


Peace of the Garden

by Miko



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-28
Updated: 2006-07-09
Packaged: 2017-10-21 10:45:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zack gets more than he expected out of a week of leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Only one in four green troops survived a month on the front lines in Wutai. Perhaps half of those remaining would make it through a year. But once you'd survived a year, or so the saying went, you were golden - until you got tired.

Physical exhaustion was common in the trenches, but this was a different kind of 'tired'. This was a weariness of the soul, when you'd been fighting for months on end without a break and no chance at leave any time soon. Shinra was short on troopers these days; they'd already lost too many in the war and there was no end in sight. The initial rush of patriotism or bravado that had prompted people to sign on at the beginning had long since faded, and conscripted troops tended to be little more than cannon fodder. There just weren't enough of them for them to be granted any kind of extended leave, no matter how weary they got.

Tired troops made sloppy mistakes, and tired officers made stupid decisions. There was a direct correlation between the attrition rate of a given squadron and the length of time since their last leave. Once that slippery slide got started, all you could do was hang on and pray you'd be one of the few who made it through somehow.

Zack had always been good at beating the odds, though his luck had come at a high price this time. Two weeks ago his CO had stepped on a materia landmine, and Zack had led the remainder of his beleaguered squadron to safety despite heavy enemy fire. He'd earned himself a medal, a field promotion to 2nd Class, and the personal attention of General Sephiroth.

And, thanks be to all the gods, a whole month back at HQ. Granted the majority of it would be taken up with training to master his 2nd Class enhancements, but he had a little more than a week before he was scheduled in the lab and he intended to enjoy every last minute of his leave. He wouldn't get another chance any time soon.

So he'd hopped the first available airship back to Midgar, crashed in his tiny little room in the 3rd Class barracks, and slept through most of his first day back. The rest of it had been occupied in eating something that had actually been cooked properly and a long, long soak in the nearest bathtub.

Now he was clean, fed, and happily unoccupied. The only thing that would have made his day more perfect would have been a lack of uniform; he'd discovered, much to his dismay, that he'd completely outgrown all his non-Shinra issue clothing while he'd been away. It was nice to know that he'd finally put on a bit of height and muscle, but at the same time he would have liked to shed the uniform he'd been living in for a year now.

Oh, well. He'd just have to buy some more. He had the better part of a year's worth of hazardous duty pay burning a hole in his bank account, he could certainly afford it. And it would give him something to do while he wandered.

The one thing he did regret was his decision to come down under the plate. The weather up top had been miserable, icy rain making the streets slick and dangerous, so he'd headed down into sector 6. What he hadn't accounted for was the reaction of people down here to his uniform. Shinra wasn't terribly popular with the people who lived cut off from the sun and weather, slowly starving to death and grubbing about to try to make a living in the dim twilight world. Even in sector 6, where so many of the troops stationed in the city came to spend their money and free time, civilians still edged away or even crossed the street to avoid a man in SOLDIER uniform.

Tomorrow would be different, once he had some jeans to wear. The glow in his eyes would still give him away to anyone who knew what to look for, but not many people paid that sort of close attention to a stranger on the street. For now he'd just stick to the main streets and shop idly for clothes.

At least, that was the plan, until he caught a whiff of an elusively familiar scent. He paused right where he was, standing in the middle of the sidewalk with the flow of foot traffic swirling by on either side of the obstruction he made. Flowers, he finally identified. Not the heavily perfumed tropical plants he'd seen in the southern regions of Wutai, but something more subtle than that.

Lilies, he thought, and maybe roses too. His mother had kept a flourishing garden in their backyard, and he'd learned quickly as a kid not to ever tramp through the plants there. Lilies and roses had been two of her favourites, and the scent made him just a little homesick. The weird part was smelling them here in Midgar, a city where nothing green grew for miles around, let alone under the plate where there was no sunlight.

It could have been a perfume, of course. There was enough cheap perfume in the air of sector 6 to drown a chocobo, especially for the enhanced senses of a SOLDIER. But those same enhanced senses told him that this smell didn't carry any of the chemical tang he associated with even good quality perfumes; it was the real thing, or else the best damned approximation he'd ever encountered.

Turning slowly, he sought the source of the scent, his eyes wide. He almost missed it, but a flash of white caught his eyes and he turned back in time to see a girl about his own age hand a lily to a giggling young couple. She smiled at them, and damned if his heart didn't skip a beat. He'd always thought that was romantic tripe, but there was something about her smile that made his whole world pause for just a moment.

He tried to catch her eyes, but she turned away before he could manage. He walked after her, trying to lengthen his stride so he could catch up to her without running and making a scene.

Despite the fact that Zack didn't have to fight the tide of sidewalk traffic thanks to the way people avoided him, he couldn't seem to reach her. She didn't look like she was actively dodging, and people certainly weren't going out of their way to let her through, but somehow she just naturally slipped right into the flow of people and made it work to her advantage. Unfortunately the lily she'd given away had been the last in the basket she carried over one arm, so he couldn't even hope for her to stop to sell another one.

She obviously knew her way around the area, because her steps never hesitated as she left the bright streets of the entertainment district and headed into the maze-like passages of sector 5. Zack followed, doing his best not to lose sight of her in the twisting corridors.

Before he could make up his mind whether or not to call out and try to get her attention, she glanced over her shoulder and saw him behind her. "Uh, hey," he started, not quite sure how to initiate a conversation under these circumstances.

To his dismay her eyes flicked to his uniform and went wide with surprise and something painfully close to fear. The expression lasted only a moment before it was replaced with determination and indignation. "I _don't_ think so," she said firmly. And then she took off running.

Startled, Zack cursed and chased after her, not even stopping to question why he was pursuing someone who so obviously didn't like SOLDIERs. He'd had a lot of people look at him with fear since making 3rd Class, and it had bothered him in a sort of general way, but this was the first time he'd actually been upset because someone was afraid of him. The vague thought in the back of his head was that he wanted her to smile at him like she had at that young couple, not look at him with fear and anger.

"Wait!" he called, struggling to follow her path and she ducked and wove among the debris. They seemed to be in a back alley system, with junk left over from construction of the plates scattered everywhere and turning it into a strange metal jungle. Following her in this mess was every bit as difficult as tracking a Wutai ninja through the forest.

If she heard him she showed no sign of it, vanishing around a sharp corner. Zack took the turn a moment later, and pulled up short. There were four different paths branching off from here, and there was no sign of her on any of them. He studied each one carefully, looking for some clue, and finally headed down the one with the nearest bend in the path. The others ran straight for a good hundred yards, and he couldn't imagine how she could have gotten out of sight that quickly if she'd taken one of them.

He ran, knowing she'd probably gotten a significant lead on him while he hesitated. Under ordinary circumstances he'd have been astonished that a normal girl could outrun a SOLDIER, but he'd been forced to go slowly for fear of rounding a turn and finding himself with a face full of rusted iron spikes, or something.

Once again he was forced to skid to a halt as he came around a second bend. There was nothing but a solid wall of junk, with no openings large enough to accommodate anything bigger than a cat. "Odin take it," he swore, frustrated. How had she vanished like that?

He turned to go back, and hesitated as his instincts told him he wasn't alone. It was the same instinct that had gotten him through the mine field in Wutai, so he wasn't about to ignore it. Scanning the area, he searched for a possible hiding place. "Look, I just want to..."

Something hit him in the chest and exploded in a cloud of white dust. Reflexes honed by far too many surprise attacks had him lashing back without even thinking about it. He'd left his sword in his room, but he wasn't stupid enough to go down to the lower city without his bracer.

Lightning licked out in the direction the attack had come from, the Bolt 3 spell racing along the metal walls of the cul-de-sac. Too late Zack remembered that he was chasing a civilian, not an enemy fighter - and a third level elemental spell might very well kill her.

With a hoarse shout and a wrenching effort he pulled the energy of the spell off course, turning it back on himself. The blast was magnified by the extra energy he'd had to put into it to divert it, and it left him reeling. Panting, he dropped to one knee, bracing himself with one hand on the ground and glaring upwards. "Ramuh's beard, lady, don't you know any better than to attack someone who just came off the front lines?"

She was above him, balanced on a piece of corrugated sheet metal braced by two leaning girders. His words drew a bit of repentance from her expression, but mostly she still just looked indignant. "You brought it on yourself," she told him firmly. "Chasing me like that. You can just march right back to Shinra and tell them that if I wouldn't go with the Turks, I'm certainly not going to let a SOLDIER haul me off."

"Say what?" Zack blinked, feeling like he'd missed an important part of the conversation somehow. Why would the Turks be interested in a flower girl? She was a bit young for them to be recruiting her for their own ranks, and anyway they wouldn't have a use for someone there against her will. But surely she couldn't be a SOLDIER candidate? Except for the Turks, Shinra was a decidedly misogynistic environment. If there were any female SOLDIERs, Zack had never met them.

"I'm not going with you," she repeated, but her determined expression was slipping into a puzzled frown. "You don't have any idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not a clue," he agreed, looking up at her. "I just got back from Wutai yesterday. I'm on leave, despite the uniform."

"Then why were you chasing me like that?" she demanded.

"I just..." It sounded stupid in his head, to say that he'd been hounding her because he wanted to see her smile again. He flushed, grateful his skin was dark enough not to show a blush easily. "I saw you with the flower. I haven't seen anything green within a twenty mile radius of Midgar. Where did you get it?"

Now even the frown was softening, and she sighed quietly. "I grow them," she told him. Which still didn't tell him _how_ she'd gotten them to grow, unless she'd come in from Kalm just to sell them.

Cool blue energy washed over him, and the worst of the pain from the Bolt spell faded. "I'm sorry I attacked you," she told him when he blinked up at her in puzzlement. "But you shouldn't just chase strange girls around, you know," she added with an impish expression. "We have to know how to take care of ourselves, living down here. If you want a flower, you'll have to come back another day. I'm all out."

She turned to go, and Zack scrambled to his feet. "Hey, wait! At least tell me your name!"

Looking back over her shoulder, she smiled at him. It was every bit as pretty from this angle as it had been when he'd seen it on the street. "Aerith." And with that she was gone, dropping down into another passageway out of sight.

"Aerith, huh?" Looking in the direction she'd gone, Zack shook his head. She was without a doubt the oddest girl he'd ever met.

And now he had to make his way back to HQ to get changed, and would doubtless be hounded by anyone who saw him covered in white dust. By nightfall every last private and paper-pusher in Shinra was going to know that a flower girl had successfully ambushed a 3rd Class SOLDIER, and he was going to be the laughingstock of the base for a while.

Brushing the worst of it off him, Zack laughed to himself. He could take a little ribbing; he certainly dished it out often enough that it was only just that he bear the brunt of it for a while. It was worth it, he decided. Not only was she beautiful, she had enough spunk for three people. How could he not be fascinated?

He already knew he wanted to see her again. If he had to spend his whole week lurking in sector 6, hoping to run across her again, he would. With luck he'd be able to be a little more direct than that, though. Normally he wasn't the sort of guy to go skirt chasing any time he had a chance, but he was willing to make an exception.

More than a few people gave him odd looks on the train, and there were muffled snickers from behind him. Zack couldn't blame people for laughing; when he caught glimpses of himself in the reflection of the windows, he looked a fright. Hades, he was surprised the littlest kids weren't fleeing him in terror or something.

It was still raining above the plate, and Zack made no particular effort to avoid getting wet this time. He was hoping the water would wash some of it off him before he got back to the base; the less of it he was wearing, the less teasing he would have to take.

Running a hand through his hair, he grimaced at the feel of it. The white crap didn't seem to be washing off, rather it was clumping together and turning into a thick sort of paste. Hopefully it wouldn't be too difficult to wash out.

The gate guards gave him astonished looks, but were constrained by their duties not to say anything. Everyone else inside was another matter entirely. There were snickers from the troopers, desperately stifled lest Zack decide to take offence and heap punishment duties on them. The commissioned officers and other SOLDIERs weren't so polite, laughing outright at the sight of him.

"Holy fucking Bahamut, what happened to you?" a 2nd Class Zack knew vaguely exclaimed as he walked into the locker room. "You look like someone tried to turn you into a snowman or something!"

"Would you believe it was divine retribution from a pissed off angel?" Zack replied, laughing and shaking his head. "I was following a pretty girl, trying to catch up to her, and apparently she thought I was stalking her or something so she ambushed me." He'd already decided not to give too many details of the way Aerith had implied that someone in Shinra was after her, not until he had a better idea of what was going on.

"I'd say her answer is 'no'," the other SOLDIER chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. He made a face as he realized he'd just put his hand in a clump of the stuff. "Hey, do you realize this stuff is hardening?" he asked curiously.

"It's what?" Surprised, Zack prodded at some of it that was clinging to his arm, and swore. "Hellfires, it's _plaster_!" he yelped in dismay. "I thought it was just flour or something!"

Quick-drying plaster, at that. The thinner layers of it had already started to harden, and he didn't think he was ever going to be able to wear this uniform again. Tugging at his hair, he confirmed that it was starting to dry there, too. If he didn't get it out fast, he was going to have to cut it out.

Swearing creatively, he stripped out of his uniform as fast as humanly possible, listening to the others in the room laughing their asses off. Leaving his clothes in a puddle of fabric and plaster on the floor, he kicked open his locker, grabbed his shower kit and bolted for the showers.

"Maybe she admired your pretty face so much she was trying to make a statue of you?" someone called after him, and there was more laughter.

"Hey, who wouldn't want to be able to admire my stunning features every day?" he shouted back, his words somewhat muffled by the spray of water he was standing under. "I'll get you a copy if you want!"

The funny thing was that he wasn't even angry with her. Admiring would be a more accurate word for the way he felt right now. She'd not only managed to ambush him, she'd done it in a way that wouldn't hurt him, but that slowed him down and left him embarrassed to teach him a lesson. If it hadn't been raining he wouldn't have had much trouble, but then maybe if it hadn't been raining she'd have used something else. He had the feeling she was the resourceful type.

And how many people would ever dare to do something like this to a SOLDIER? She had a lot of nerve, that was for sure.

Most SOLDIERs never settled down; they gave various reasons for it, usually citing the fact that they moved around too much or that their jobs were too dangerous, but the truth was that most normal people were afraid of them. Even the ones who worked with them on a regular basis and seemed outwardly comfortable with them tended to have a subtle hint of fear lurking in the backs of their eyes. They were different, alien, and people feared that which was different. Who could face having their wife or girlfriend look at them like that?

Tugging a hard lump of plaster free, Zack winced as some of his hair came out with it. Despite the pain he was still grinning. Somehow, he didn't think fear was going to be a problem with this girl. Staying on his toes and keeping himself in one piece was more likely to be a priority, but that would just make it interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

Zack had a lot of friends in some odd places. He made a few discreet inquiries of the people he knew in the Turks, and the answer had surprised him. "Aerith? Man, you don't want to touch her with a ten foot pole," one of them had told him. "You'd be better off forgetting you ever heard the name."

So it seemed she did have reason to be wary of Shinra personnel following her home, though he still hadn't been able to discover why. Rather than stirring an apparent hornet's nest by asking more questions, Zack decided he'd be better off going straight to the source.

His second excursion under the plate was considerably less stressful than the one the day before, largely due to the jeans and sweater he'd bought after going back to barracks to clean up. He'd needed them more than ever after the plaster she'd pelted him with. His uniform had been a total write-off.

Wearing casual clothes and with sunglasses to hide the glow of his eyes, he got a much warmer reception from the natives of sector 5. He'd started there since that was the direction she'd been heading in, and it was easier to find locals than it was in sector 6.

It didn't take him long to hit paydirt. Most of the people he spoke to recognized her name, and the few that didn't all realized who he meant when he described her as 'the flower girl'. Apparently she was popular and very well liked, and she did indeed live in sector 5.

Oddly, though, everyone seemed reluctant to tell him _where_ she lived within the sector. Well, that probably wasn't surprising if the Turks really were after her. He got a few sly winks and nudges from older men when he asked about her, but no real information.

Finally he found a younger boy who didn't seem to realize that it might be a bad idea to tell strangers about his 'big sister with the flowers'. "Sometimes she's at home, but mostly she's out selling flowers," the boy told him earnestly. "She doesn't usually leave until later, though. You can probably find her at the church!" He pointed in the direction of sector 4.

"In a church?" Zack repeated, surprised. With the advent of manufactured materia and the ability to summon the gods to do your bidding, religion was something that became a bit less compelling. Few people bothered to worship any more, especially in the big cities.

The kid nodded. "Yeah, she spends lots of time there. You can't miss it, there's not much else still standing in that area."

Ah, now he understood. The church was in one of the many areas beneath the plate that had been abandoned by its inhabitants when they realized how difficult life without the sun would be. Those areas were run down at best and dangerously hazardous at worst, and not many people went in them. Monsters tended to roam the streets, for one thing.

"Thanks," he said, and headed in the indicated direction with a wave over his shoulder for the kid.

He quickly found himself in one of the worst areas he'd ever been in. The boy hadn't been kidding when he said there wasn't much still standing. The church stood out in the distance, in what had probably been the centre of the town until it was absorbed into Midgar.

Zack had to fight off two monsters just to get near the place, and he couldn't imagine how she managed to go back and forth every day. Granted she'd done a pretty decent job protecting herself from him, all things considered, but she couldn't lay plaster ambushes for every monster in the district.

Once outside the church he hesitated for a moment, looking at the leaning door and the partly smashed stained glass windows. It wasn't hard to figure out that this place must be a kind of private retreat for her. Probably somewhere she felt safe. If the people of sector 5 had been reluctant to tell Zack where she lived, they hadn't even _mentioned_ the existence of the church as a possible place to find her. She might well resent him for intruding, especially considering the terms they'd met on the first time.

Shaking his head, Zack pushed his doubts aside and strode forward. He'd always been the kind of person to just go for what he wanted and ignore the nagging doubts that tried to hold him back. If not, he'd never have even left home, let alone become a SOLDIER.

The floorboards creaked horribly with every step he took, so he didn't make any effort to be quiet as he entered. Not that he could have anyway, wearing heavy combat boots. Despite the noise and their age the boards didn't seem to be in any danger of collapsing beneath him, at least.

The centre of the church in front of the altar was an open space, and growing in it was nothing short of a miracle. The field of yellow and white flowers spread over the floor for all the world as if they were in a sunny meadow somewhere, not seeming to care about the lack of sun or water or nutrients. He stopped short in the aisle and just stared at them.

"I was wondering when I'd see you again." Zack started and glanced to one side of the field where Aerith was rising from a crouch, a small trowel in her hand. "I didn't expect it to be so soon, though," she continued when he couldn't find his voice immediately. "You must be very persistent to have found me here."

"You recognize me out of uniform?" he asked, pushing his sunglasses up to look at her in surprise. When it came to SOLDIERs most people, especially civilians, tended to look at the uniform rather than the person wearing it. As a result, SOLDIERs in civvies could often pass unrecognized even by people who saw them on a semi-regular basis.

"Of course," she said, tilting her head to one side and giving him a thoughtful look. "Besides, who else would be coming to find me with big noisy boots like that? You walk too heavily to be a Turk, and too smoothly to be a trooper."

"I don't have any other shoes," Zack said, feeling oddly defensive. "I outgrew my dress boots while I was gone, and I didn't bother buying any sneakers yesterday." He'd tried a few pairs on, but after so long living in his combat boots, sometimes even sleeping in them, anything else had felt uncomfortable and awkward.

"That's right, you said you'd just come from the front," Aerith nodded, and her eyes gentled. Her expression wasn't pity; Zack would have resented that, because he didn't need anybody's pity. It wasn't exactly sympathy, either. Empathy, maybe? "Is it very bad out there? They don't tell us anything here except for crowing about the 'glorious victories' we seem to have every other day."

Grimacing, Zack shook his head. "It's bad enough. If there've been any glorious victories, I sure missed out on them. I guess Shinra has to keep its investors satisfied that we're making progress."

"But that's not something you want to talk about while you're on leave," she said wisely.

"Not really, no," Zack admitted with a rueful grin. "I... are those touch me lilies?" Diverted by the sight of the familiar big, heavy blossoms, he moved towards them with wide eyes. "They are! Wow, I haven't seen any of these since I left home!" He cupped one of them around the stem at the base of the flower, careful not to get any pollen on him. The lilies were named for the fact that it was their pollen, picked up by the sticky skin of the frogs when they brushed by the flowers in the wild, that caused the touch me's odd and sometimes dangerous effect. Zack had been frogged more times than he cared to count as a kid. It was a very strange sensation. As far as he knew, they didn't grow anywhere else outside his homeland.

"You're from Gongaga?" Aerith asked curiously, and Zack nodded.

"Yeah, I ran off when I was thirteen, came to Midgar to make it big as a SOLDIER," he told her. "Haven't been back since. I really need to get around to writing to my parents one of these days, to let them know I'm still alive and kicking. How did you get these to grow here? Never mind the fact that _none_ of these should be growing here. My mom tried for years to get touch me lilies to grow in her garden, and she never managed it. They don't like being cultivated."

"I'm not cultivating them," she told him with laughter in her eyes. "I just watch over them, they don't mind that nearly as much. They don't like being told where they are and aren't allowed to grow, or how big they're allowed to get."

It sounded like the usual sort of animism many gardeners indulged in, including his mother. But somehow when she said it like that, Zack almost believed she was speaking literally.

"So did you want a flower, then?" she asked, and now the laughter had migrated to her voice. "You must be terribly eager for one, to have tracked me down instead of just waiting for me to go out this afternoon. Which one would you like?"

"I..." Zack looked from her to the flowers and back, and a sheepish expression crept onto his face. If he just took the flower, then he wouldn't have an excuse to be here any more, and he found he was really enjoying himself. "Actually, I came to see you. The flowers are just a bonus."

Finally the laughter escaped her, a soft sweet sound that left Zack utterly entranced. Her eyes sparkled when she laughed like that, almost bright enough to rival a SOLDIER's. "So you're willing to admit it," she said with a warm smile. "SOLDIERs really are brave. Well, you've seen me. Now what?"

"Uh..." Zack's first instinct was to ask her out for lunch, or some other way of getting her to go out with him so he could get to know her. Instead, he found himself looking out over the little indoor field. This was her territory, the place where she felt happiest and most at home. What better place could he find to learn about her? "Can I help with the flowers?"

Her smile warmed further. "Right answer," she told him, and the impish look was back in her eyes. "But I hope you really mean it, because I _will_ put you to work if you stick around."

"Heavy labour, huh?" Zack asked, and she nodded. He grinned at her. "Point me at it. Trust me, it'll be a nice change from digging latrine trenches or hauling crates of supplies around." Or other, far less pleasant tasks, like burial duty or going out to drop grenades on an enemy position. Or, worst of all, going out to fight and kill people face to face.

Maybe she read some of what he was thinking in his eyes. Or maybe she just really was that empathic, because her smile turned sad and she reached out and touched his arm. If he hadn't been watching her so closely he would have missed the tiny flinch she made at the contact. Frowning, he caught her hand with his and asked, "What's wrong? Are you really so frightened of SOLDIERs that it scares you to touch me?"

The thought was disturbing on more levels than Zack could understand. But she was shaking her head, smiling again as she squeezed his fingers in hers.

"No, it's not that," she assured him. "I was only frightened when I first saw you because I thought... well, it doesn't matter, because I was wrong. It's just the mako. I've never been this close to a SOLDIER before, I hadn't realized how strong it would be."

"The mako?" Zack repeated, baffled. She just nodded, as if it should have been self explanatory. "You can _feel_ it?" He'd encountered a few SOLDIERs 1st Class, Sephiroth in particular, who carried a sort of energy field with them just from the amount of mako that had been introduced to their systems. Usually only other SOLDIERs could pick up on it, attuned as they were by their own enhancements, but there were rare people with a talent for magic who could sense it as well.

He already knew she was a mage, she'd shown that when she'd healed him yesterday. Theoretically anyone could use materia, but it took a certain native ability to be able to handle the forces contained within the spheres. But he'd never heard of anyone being able to sense the mako in a 2nd Class SOLDIER, let alone a 3rd.

"Man, if you're flinching away from _me_ , don't ever get close to a 1st Class," he warned her, shaking his head in awe. Was this why the Turks wanted her? Hojo would surely love to get his hands on someone with this kind of ability to sense mako. And, from what little Zack knew of the man, he probably wouldn't be all that careful in how he treated her while studying the ability in an attempt to replicate it.

She saw the comprehension in his eyes, and nodded. "You understand," she said softly.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Don't worry. You're safe with me. And if the Turks give you trouble, you let me know. Even they don't like messing with a SOLDIER unless they have to. I'm Zack, by the way," he added somewhat sheepishly as he realized he still hadn't told her his name.

Laughing, she tugged her hand free. "You're assuming I'll see you again after today," she pointed out with a smile to gentle her words. "Let's see how much you want anything to do with me after I put you through your paces today."

Grinning again in response to her laughter, Zack swept her an elaborate bow. "My lady's wish is my command."

True to her word, she worked him hard. He spent most of the morning prying up the pews that were bolted to the floor nearest to the garden, careful not to damage the floorboards beneath too much. He carried them outside to dump them on one of the many piles of broken wood that had once been buildings, then came back to scrub the floor. There was surprisingly little grime; she must have cleaned regularly to keep the church in such good condition. Then he used plaster to fill in the holes left by the bolts.

By the time he was done all that, his internal clock was telling him it was well into lunch time. "I don't suppose you'd let me buy you lunch," he called over to her where she was working among the flowers. "Either way, if I don't eat soon I'm gonna collapse."

"Hmm, only if you don't like home made food," she said, smiling at him as she sat up and dusted her hands off. Standing, she made her way over to the side where her handbasket sat, and drew out a large box covered in a folded cloth. "I had a feeling this morning that I should pack enough for two, even though I didn't expect you to track me down here."

"Uh..." Zack eyed the box dubiously. He'd been burning a lot of energy, and the drawback to the accelerated metabolism that allowed SOLDIERs to take more damage was that they also required more food. Plus he was still a growing teenaged boy. Even if she'd packed enough for two by normal standards, he'd probably be able to eat both their shares and still be hungry.

"Don't worry, there's plenty," she assured him, patting the floorboards beside the garden where she'd settled. "If it's not enough, then I'll take _you_ to lunch," she promised.

"I won't hold you to that," he said, giving in with a laugh as he walked towards her. "You haven't seen how much I can eat."

There _was_ plenty of food, though. There were large pastries filled with meat, vegetables and a rich broth, the crust flaky and perfect. Sandwiches with various kinds of meat and toppings were unpacked next, followed by two sealed containers of still warm soup, one of which was significantly larger than the other. And most amazing of all, two large, crisp, juicy apples that looked like they'd just been plucked from the tree.

"All of this is fresh, except the meat," Zack marvelled, eyes wide as he turned an apple around in his hand. "The apples alone must be worth hundreds of gil." Fresh fruit was even more difficult to come by in Midgar than flowers, and the only people who got fruit this perfectly ripe were the ones who could afford to have it flown in on a daily basis. "Are you just that rich, or do you have an orchard hidden away somewhere as well as the flowers?"

"Just one tree," she told him with another little laugh. "Outside my bedroom window. The rest of it comes from my garden at home. And before you ask, I didn't make any of this. I grow the food, my mother cooks it."

"Well, she's an even better cook than my mother, and that's saying something," Zack said after swallowing a mouthful of pastry. "And you can tell her I said so!"

"Mmm, I would, but I don't think she'd be happy to hear that I spent the day with you," Aerith replied, a bit subdued. "She worries. Even if I didn't tell her that you're a SOLDIER, she'd fret." Her smile this time held a mixture of exasperation and fondness. "She still thinks of me as a little girl, I'm afraid. I keep trying to tell her that I'm fifteen now, I can take care of myself."

"I know that feeling," Zack agreed sympathetically. "I love my parents more than anything, but they were kind of stifling. Granted, looking back on it now, I _was_ a bit too young to go haring off to Midgar by myself, but it worked out well enough."

"Why did you leave? Why SOLDIER?" she asked, curling up with her feet tucked under her to one side, looking as if she was genuinely interested.

"Eh... all the usual childish reasons, I guess," Zack admitted, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Glory and honour and pride. Dreams of heroic battles, saving the girl, defeating the evil monster, that sort of stuff. A pair of SOLDIERs came in to help take care of some of the nastier monsters that cropped up, and I followed them around all week. Skipped my classes, got a serious tongue lashing from my mom, but it was worth it." She smiled, and he grinned. "After that I had so many stars in my eyes I could hardly see the ground I was walking on. Two weeks later I left home for Midgar, and nothing anybody said could have stopped me."

"Is it everything you hoped it would be?" she asked playfully.

For a moment Zack's gaze went distant, and he swore he could hear the screams of the dying echoing in the church, smell the horrible stench of burned and rotting human flesh that clung to everything. "No," he said shortly, more abrupt than he'd meant to be. Taking a deep breath, he hauled himself back to the present and gentled his tone. "No, not really. They leave out all the less pleasant stuff on the recruiting posters, you know? And I don't think it's what anyone could expect, without having already experienced it first."

"I'm sorry," she said, laying her hand on his arm again. This time she didn't flinch. "I promised not to remind you and then I go and do it anyway."

"Nah, it's okay," he shrugged her concern off, though he made no move to get out from under her hand. "There're good things too. And the war won't last forever - sooner or later somebody is going to run out of fighters. In the meantime I'm here, I've still got most of a week of leave, and," he recovered his grin and winked at her, "here I am sitting around when lunch is done and I promised to be your slave for the day. What's next?"

"Oh, now, wait a minute," she protested, laughing. "I don't remember anybody saying anything about being a slave for the day. If I'd known I had _that_ much authority, I'd have been more... creative with my orders."

He blinked at her, trying to decide if she'd actually meant that in a sexual context or if his poor hormonal teenaged brain was just spinning its wheels. She smiled sweetly back at him, as perfectly innocent as a baby, and somehow that didn't convince him that he was imagining things. He already knew she was a bit of a minx, and nobody was as naive as she looked like she was right now.

"Well, like I said, your every whim is my desire," he replied after a moment, and he was grateful when his voice came out light and not husky. "So, what's my greatest desire at the moment?" She giggled, one hand over her mouth, her eyes sparkling at him.

"Apparently your greatest desire is to haul soil around," she informed him, still giggling. "I've got a big stack of bags in the back that a friend delivered for me. Will you spread it out over the area you just cleared? The flowers have been getting so cramped lately, they want to spread out."

"As you wish," he said, jumping to his feet with a flourish. She giggled again, and he headed towards the door that led to the back of the church.

That explained one thing, anyway, Zack thought as he started ferrying the bags of soil into the main room. If she shipped in good soil from somewhere outside Midgar's range of lifelessness, she could probably keep a garden going as long as she replenished the soil every so often. Even if you brought living things in from outside, Midgar slowly drained them to nothing, but it did take time. Though it still didn't explain how the plants could be flourishing with a total lack of sunlight. He knew apple farmers back in Gongaga who would give their left arm to produce apples like the one he'd just eaten.

Aerith was back among the flowers again, humming to herself just loud enough for him to hear it as she worked. Or maybe she was humming to the flowers; that would fit everything else he'd noticed about her. Hades, for all he knew, the humming was her substitute for sunlight. Whatever it was, it was working.

Once he had all the bags in the main room, he grabbed the top one and carried it to the edge of the current garden. A quick look confirmed that she'd spread a thick layer of rich, dark soil over the floorboards for the flowers to grow in. Well, if she sold her produce as well as her flowers, she could probably afford to have the stuff shipped in.

Thinking he'd solved at least part of the mystery, Zack tore open the bag and upended it at his feet. The cloud of dust that rose to engulf him caught him by surprise, as he'd been expecting damp rich soil. Coughing, he backed away from the pile, waving his hand in front of him to try to clear the dust. She was giggling again, though she wasn't looking at him.

"Uh..." Surveying the pile of dirt as the cloud settled, Zack frowned. "Aerith, I hate to break it to you, but you got gypped," he said, going to one knee and running a hand through the dirt. It was dry and lifeless, little more than powdery dust. "This is Midgar soil. You can't grow a weed in this crap, let alone a flower."

"I wasn't cheated," she replied placidly, petting the plant in front of her. "I didn't pay anything for it."

"Well, that's good, because nothing is about how much it's worth." Zack was obscurely disappointed. He'd actually been looking forward to helping her expand such an amazing miracle of a garden. It was nice to be creating life for a change, instead of taking it.

"Just spread it around until it's about two feet from the edge of the cleared area, just like this side," she replied, and he gaped at her.

"What? Aerith, this stuff is useless," he protested. "You'd just be taking up space that you could use for better soil later."

Glancing over her shoulder at him, she smiled. "You said my every whim was your desire," she pointed out, eyes bright again. "This is a whim."

Looking from her to the dirt and back again, he finally shrugged. "You're the boss - or should I say mistress?"

"Hmm, 'mistress', I kind of like the sound of that," she said, tapping her chin with a mock-thoughtful expression. "I'll consider it. I might come up with a better title, but that will do for now."

Laughing helplessly, Zack shook his head and went to empty out the rest of the bags of dirt. Maybe it was just make-work to see if she could drive him off - though why'd she'd had the bags on hand, he couldn't figure out. Well, if it was, she'd have to try harder than this. Hard work or not, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much fun in a day. The scent of flowers filled the air, her soft humming was sweet to the ear, and best of all, the company was fantastic.

Spreading the dirt around proved to be more difficult than doing it with soil would have been. The crap was so powdery that it puffed up into dust clouds at the slightest provocation, and once in the air it was so fine that it just hung there, refusing to settle again. Zack tried to avoid walking through it as much as he could so he wouldn't spend the afternoon constantly coughing, but it was hard to manage.

The whole time Aerith spent puttering among her plants, aerating the soil, watering, and just generally paying attention to the flowers. Zack's mother had always sworn that plants grew better when they were loved; if it was true, that was at least part of the explanation for why these ones were flourishing, because Aerith loved them like they were her kids.

Because he had to go slowly to avoid losing half of it as dust in the air, by the time Zack was finished he was getting hungry again and he knew it was late afternoon. "All done," he declared, stepping back to the clear space around the edge and surveying his work. The area was criss-crossed with his boot tracks, but he couldn't really have avoided that. He'd managed to spread it fairly evenly.

"Good job," Aerith applauded him as she came to stand beside him. "And thank you. It would have taken me days to do all this."

"So, does that mean I can take you out to dinner as a reward for good behaviour?" Zack asked her shamelessly, grinning.

Tilting her head, she smiled and asked, "You're used to being considered a charmer, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Zack agreed without remorse. He'd always been easy-going, and most people seemed to like him without him making any real effort at it. He generally made friends as easily as breathing. He gave her an exaggerated hopeful look. "Does that mean it's working?"

"Hmmm, maybe," Aerith said, her eyes laughing at him again.

"Maybe is good," Zack declared. "Better than 'no', that's for sure. Do I get to take you to dinner?"

"Not this time, I'm afraid," Aerith shook her head. Maybe Zack was just being optimistic, but it sounded to him like she was genuinely regretful. "I need to go out with the flowers, since I didn't do it this afternoon. I'm our primary source of income at the moment."

"Well, will I see you here tomorrow, then?" he persisted. Something told him not to offer to go with her tonight; he'd been pushy enough for one day, tracking her down here.

"Tomorrow?" she repeated, seeming surprised. "I'll be here, in the morning anyway. But surely you've got better things to do with your leave than grub around in my garden. You said you only had a week."

"Better things like what?" Zack asked, shrugging. "Beside the fact that I still want to convince you to let me treat you to dinner at some point, I wasn't here long enough to make friends outside the military before they shipped me off. Pretty much everyone I know is back at the front. Grubbing around in a garden sounds pretty damn appealing, actually; it's nice to be creating something for a change."

It was the last part that had reached her, Zack was sure of that. She gave him her soft smile again. "Well, you're welcome here any time, then. Even if I'm not here. This place was meant to be a sanctuary; it can be that for someone other than me and the flowers."

"I might just take you up on that some day," he told her with another smile. "Is that it for the day, then?" He still didn't understand how she was planning to plant anything in that crap, but it was her garden. She obviously knew what she was doing, or the existing plants wouldn't be flourishing.

"Just one more thing," she said, turning back to the patch of bare dirt. She lifted her hands, and a green materia flashed from the bracer Zack hadn't even noticed she was wearing. Green energy welled up around her and forced him to take a step back to avoid being caught in the magic. After a moment she redirected it towards the garden, and he watched as it settled over the dead soil and sank into it.

Right before his eyes, the dry powder turned darker and clumped together, forming clods of earth. The dirt drank in the magic like a dried up sponge dropped into the ocean, soaking it up greedily. When the energy of the spell faded, the open space was now covered with thin but viable soil.

"You... what _was_ that, Life?" Zack asked, astonished. "You can use healing magic on inanimate objects?"

"It's not whether the target is inanimate or not that matters, it's whether it has life or not," Aerith told him solemnly. "Soil isn't lifeless. At least, it's not supposed to be. The earth here in Midgar is dead; all the life has been sucked out of it. Healing magics help a little, but I have to renew them constantly. I wish I was strong enough to cast Life 2 or some of the higher level Cure spells. Even if I had them available, I don't have the energy. I'm still building up my reserves."

"It takes a long time at first, but it's not a linear progression," Zack told her absently, still staring over the soil in awe. Why hadn't anyone ever thought of this before? Granted they couldn't exactly blanket Midgar and its surroundings in constant healing magic; that would take every bit of mako from all the reactors to do. But they could create small plots of farmland, bring the food prices down a bit so the people under the plate didn't have to starve.

"Here," he said impulsively, lifting his own bracer. He hadn't needed any magic to face the monsters on his way here, so his reserves were still at full. Reaching for the energy of his Restore materia, he triggered the Regen spell and turned his attention to the garden.

At that point he stumbled a bit, because he'd only ever cast healing magic on _people_ and didn't have the faintest clue how to make a 'target' out of a patch of bare ground. He fought with the magic, and cursed mentally as the struggle ended up draining more energy from him than this spell usually took. Regen was already costly enough in terms of power used.

Finally he forced it to do what he wanted, and the dull red glow of the spell settled over the bare earth. Sweating and struggling to keep his breathing slow and even, he lowered his arm. "There. That should help."

"Oh, that's lovely!" she exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together in front of her and bouncing on her toes like an eager little kid. "Thank you so much!" Before he realized what she was going to do she'd rested one hand on his shoulder and gone up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. She smelled like the flowers and her lips felt oddly warm against his skin, and he had a fanciful notion that maybe the garden didn't need sunlight because she carried it around with her.

Oddly, the sudden move had _not_ triggered a reflexive defensive move on his part; for some reason his instincts hadn't interpreted it as an attack even though he'd lashed out at people for far less than this in the past. When she pulled away and smiled at him, he realized with shock that some of the tension he'd carried around with him constantly for the last year had faded, leaving him on a bit less of a hair-trigger.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in concern, seeing his flummoxed expression. "I'm sorry, I thought..."

Realizing she thought the reaction was a negative response to her kiss, Zack shook his head quickly. "No, no! It's just that I'm surprised I didn't put you through a wall or something. You really ought to be a bit more careful around people back from Wutai, especially SOLDIERs. I don't want to end up hurting you by accident."

"You won't," she assured him, and he knew that like most civilians she simply could not comprehend how much the war could change people. He wouldn't _mean_ to hurt her, but sooner or later he wouldn't be able to pull his attack in time.

Seeing the doubt in his eyes, she patted him on the arm. "It's the peace of the church," she explained. "It's relaxing you, that's all. I'll be more careful, though, if it worries you that much."

His answering grin was a little uneasy; the reflexes he'd developed in the war were entirely inappropriate anywhere but in battle, but he wasn't going to be on leave forever. He'd need those survival instincts when he got back into the fighting.

"It will be all right, Zack," she told him again. "I promise. Come back tomorrow, if you want to, and if you're still worried then you don't have to come back again. I'll even meet you somewhere else, if you like."

Laughing, he managed a more genuine smile. "Careful, now. You don't want me claiming I'm bothered just to get you to have dinner with me. Short of my leave being cancelled, I'll be back tomorrow. You can be sure of that."

It would be okay, he reasoned with himself. Even in the unlikely event that he somehow lost the better part of his reflexes, he had nearly a month of training ahead of him to master his 2nd Class enhancements anyway. He'd have them forced right back in again.

"Good," she said with some satisfaction. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Bright and early, mind you! I'm sure you military types are used to getting up with the dawn."

"You'd better believe it!" he confirmed. "Not that 'dawn' is all that early, this far north and this late in the year. So I guess I'll see you then." With a jaunty wave he turned to head out, since that had sounded like a dismissal to him.

"Be careful on your way out," she called after him. "The monsters seem more likely to attack in the later part of the day."

"I'll be fine," he replied, giving her one last grin as he pulled the door open. " _You_ be careful, too. Over confidence because you think you know the area has been the downfall of more than one good soldier."

Her sweet laughter was the last thing he heard as he let the door close behind him, and he headed down the broken steps with a stupid grin on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this sort of uncomplicated happiness. Spending the day with a pretty girl was about all he could have asked for from his leave time. Doing it in the middle of a small field of flowers was an un-hoped for icing on the cake.


	3. Chapter 3

True to his word, Zack was there just before dawn the next day. Not that you could tell it was dawn beneath the plates, or even whether it was day or night at all. In the lower sectors everything was lit by the harsh glare of the mako-powered lights above at all hours. There were plenty of people down here who worked odd schedules because they didn't have to worry about what time of day it was.

He actually managed to arrive before Aerith, and his steps were a bit hesitant as he walked down the centre aisle towards the flowers. She'd said he was welcome here even if she wasn't present, but it still felt like he was intruding on something private.

The flowers didn't seem to be upset by his presence, at least. He'd half expected to find that they would be closed up tight, but they were still happily blooming away as if they didn't realize they were in a place that should never have been able to support one flower, let alone a small field of them.

Realizing he was now thinking about the things as if they were sentient, Zack snorted in amusement. Aerith's casual references to the flowers' attitudes and preferences were making his imagination work over time.

To his delight the unplanted patch of soil really was _soil_ now and not just dirt. Kneeling at the edge he ran a hand through it, enjoying the texture of it against his skin. It felt rich and alive, fairly bursting with the possibility of life.

Deciding it couldn't hurt to rake the new soil and make sure it was viable all the way down to the bottom layer, Zack grabbed the rake he'd been using to push the dirt around yesterday and set to work. Aerith found him there about twenty minutes later, just as he was finishing up.

"Oh good!" she exclaimed, obviously pleased to see him. "That's exactly what I was going to ask you to do next, if you came. Good morning."

Putting that look of happiness in her eyes gave Zack a warm feeling in his chest, and he found himself grinning back stupidly. _Boy, you've got it bad,_ he told himself, but he found he couldn't bring himself to be dismayed. It was silly to think he might be falling for a girl he'd only just met, but there was something about Aerith that drew him like... well, like a flower to the sun.

"Your humble slave greets you well, mistress," he teased her, and she giggled.

"You're quite taken with this idea of being my slave, aren't you?" she teased him right back. "I'm starting to wonder about you. But since we do need to get some work done on the garden today, I must reluctantly relinquish my authority over you. Otherwise I might get distracted thinking of more interesting orders I could be giving you." Once again she looked perfectly innocent, but this time Zack was sure he wasn't imagining the innuendo. She was a minx, all right.

"Well, in that case, good morning to you too," Zack replied. "I take it we're transplanting today?" he asked, looking at the covered trays she was carrying stacked in her arms. "Unless that's lunch, but I think that might be a bit too much food even for me."

"I brought lunch too, but these are seedlings," she agreed with a laugh. "Help me set them down, please?"

He took about two thirds of the stack from her, lightening her burden considerably, and they spread them out along the perimeter of the untouched soil. Each was labelled with the kind of flower they contained, as well as a sketch of the garden with the section they belonged in marked off. "Where do you even get the seeds for these?" he wondered aloud, seeing that almost none were duplicates of the riot of flowers already growing in the other half of the soil.

"Here and there," she answered vaguely, waving a hand. "I collect them whenever I come across them. Several of my regular customers who travel outside of Midgar will bring me back seed packets from other cities. They seem to find their way to me by one route or another." She touched the petals of the closest flower, a bright geranium, and Zack swore he could see it perk up.

"Shall we get started, then?" he suggested, looking over the trays until he found the one that was supposed to go beside the existing flowers at one end of the field. Picking it up, careful not to disturb the delicate seedlings within, he carried it over to its designated area and opened the cover. Nothing was in bloom yet, of course, and he wouldn't have known the little green shoots were pansies if the cover hadn't said so, but just seeing something green inside Midgar was enough to make him smile.

Zack scooped a hole in the dirt with his fingers, picked up the first of the seedlings and gently tilted it out of its pot, careful to cradle the roots. Placing it in the hole he'd made for it, he patted the soil back into place around it. "Do we have any water?" he asked, looking up.

He found her already standing right in front of him with a small pail of water in hand, smiling down at him. "You do know what you're doing," she said approvingly. "Good, I won't have to hover over you. Do you want a trowel?"

"Nah," he shook his head as he took the pail and dipped one hand in it, sprinkling water around the seedling in its new home. "My mom always swore the plants grew better when she did it with her own two hands. I don't know if I inherited her green thumb or not, but I can at least follow her advice."

The delight on her face was obviously unfeigned, and it made him smile back at her. "Your mother sounds like a very wise woman," Aerith said, moving to select a tray for herself. "I've found exactly the same thing."

"She'd love you," Zack told her with a laugh. "You'd better watch out if by some chance you ever meet her. She'll adopt you as the daughter she always wanted before you even realize what's happening. And _then_ she'll start matchmaking, since you're exactly the kind of girl she's always saying I should settle down with. Actually, remind me to make sure you never _do_ meet my mother. She's like a force of nature when she gets her mind set on something. We'd find ourselves married before either of us had a chance to comment, let alone protest."

Giggling, Aerith settled into place with her tray. To Zack's surprise and delight, she'd chosen to start right next to him instead of going to the far end and working her way to meet him in the middle. "Oh, I don't know about that," she said, her eyes sparkling and that impish look back on her face. "She might _think_ I'm the kind of girl she always wanted for you, but only if she doesn't look farther than the surface." She winked at him, and he grinned back.

"Probably just as well that I'm not exactly ready to settle down and start having kids, then," Zack said wryly. And let her take that as an oblique warning; he liked her and he really wanted to date her, but if she was one of those girls who thought everything had to be an all or nothing commitment she was doomed to disappointment with him.

"I don't know, I think you'd make a wonderful father," she countered, and for a moment he felt disappointment thinking she really was one of the girls who couldn't think about anything but weddings and children. He was relieved when she added, "In ten or fifteen years, that is. Anyone wild enough to run away from home and join SOLDIER at thirteen isn't the type to settle down early, I would think!"

"You'd probably be right, though I can only answer for myself," Zack agreed. "And anyway, there's no way in hell I'd risk leaving a widow or - gods forbid! - orphans behind. I'm not even thinking about it until the war is over, one way or another!"

He hadn't realized how vehement he was getting until he felt her gentle hand on his shoulder, calming him. "Sorry, it's a touchy subject," he said, focusing on the flowers to help calm himself further. "I've already had to write too damn many consolation letters to the wives and kids of men under my command. And I'm going to have to write a whole lot more when I go back as a 2nd Class, because I'll be given bigger commands."

And it was all so damn unnecessary, that was the worst part. Wutai hadn't been hurting anyone by insisting on keeping its traditional and isolated ways, but Shinra couldn't abide the idea of anyone not bending to their power.

"You have nothing to apologize for," she insisted, squeezing his shoulder once before returning to her own seedlings. "It's not something that should ever stop being a touchy subject."

They dropped it, and instead of going off on another conversational tangent she allowed silence to fall between them. It wasn't the sort of awkward pause that demanded attempts to fill it, and Zack was content to let it remain for the moment. It wasn't even really quiet, since she was humming to the flowers again. Zack wasn't quite ready to start singing to his seedlings, but he figured they could hear her just as well as the ones she was working on directly.

Without really meaning to he found himself timing his work so that he reached the side of his plot nearest her at the same time she did, so their shoulders and sometimes hands brushed together as they worked. He was sure she realized what he was doing, and was encouraged by the fact that she neither said anything nor changed the rhythm of her work to avoid him. If anything, she seemed to be making an effort to make certain they met in the middle as well.

By the time they'd finished the first trays, Zack realized he was once again happier than he could remember being in a long time. It didn't even bother him any more that his battle-honed reflexes seemed to have vanished entirely, allowing him to truly relax for the first time in over a year. He'd known he was tense, but he didn't realize _how_ tense until it was gone.

"Man, _this_ is what leave _should_ be like," he proclaimed as they started on the second set of seedlings. "If I could get just one whole platoon to have a day like this, they'd be so energized we'd win the war in a week."

"I don't think it would work with that many people in one place," Aerith laughed at him. "The crowd would destroy the sense of peace and you wouldn't be much better off than you started. Besides, they'd trample the flowers. How many troopers could I trust a job like this with and not end up with more dead flowers than live ones?"

"Probably not very many," he admitted with a wry grin. "Never thought I'd be so grateful for all those hours mom made me spend in the garden for punishments! Besides, I don't think it'd work half as well without the 'pretty girl singing at your side' part, and I doubt there are thirty of you anywhere in the world."

"Flatterer," she accused him, but she looked pleased. "You never give up, do you?"

"Wouldn't be in SOLDIER if I was the type to give up," Zack pointed out, his grin widening. "Is it working yet?"

Laughing, she threw a handful of dirt at him in protest, and he made no effort to dodge. Instead he caught most it right out of the air. "Thanks!" he said, patting it into place around the seedling he'd just transplanted. She laughed again and went back to work, and they fell into a companionable silence once more.

Gradually Zack found they were lingering over the seedlings that brought them closest together, spending more time on them so they could use the excuse to touch, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to curl his fingers around hers when she announced, "We're halfway done, and if I'm hungry you must be starving. Let's take a break for lunch."

She let him help her to her feet, and they were still holding hands as they walked over to her basket where she presumably had brought lunch once more. Her hand was small and warm in his, and it felt good to have it there. Zack, like many of the guys he knew, had never really been much on handholding. It was just one of those things that girls expected, and you indulged them in and hoped it led to more, not something that was an end in its own right. With Aerith, he found himself just enjoying the contact for itself.

Which was not to say that he wasn't hoping it would lead to more. He'd have been flat out lying if he tried to claim that, and he had a feeling that lying to Aerith would be a very good way to cause her to immediately lose interest. He also had a feeling she would just _know_ if he tried to lie to her. Thankfully she didn't seem likely to ask, so he wouldn't have to choose between lying or making her think he was only interested in getting under her skirt.

Somehow they managed to get the food laid out without letting go, and Zack didn't mind in the least having to eat a little awkwardly with his left hand. The food tasted even better this time, and he was afraid he might have made just a little bit of a pig of himself. She didn't seem to mind, smiling at him the whole time as she ate her much smaller portion.

"Doesn't your mom wonder why you need so much food?" he asked curiously.

"I told her I was meeting a friend for lunch," Aerith shrugged. "Which is true enough, just not all of the truth. I feel bad hiding it from her, but... well, she tries so hard to protect me, but she doesn't realize I don't need to be protected from _everything_."

"That's a mom's job, I think," Zack said. "Fussing over you. I'm sorry you have to lie to her just so you can bring me lunch. You didn't _have_ to, you know. I can bring my own, or go buy something."

"Certainly not." She sounded a bit indignant, but she was still smiling at him. "Sit here and eat my wonderful fresh lunch while I make you go out for the poor imitation of food that's available here? I don't think so. Besides, it's nice sharing with someone who's so enthusiastic about it." She was teasing him, he knew, but he could only laugh.

"What can I say? I'm a growing teenage boy, and your mom's a damn fine cook," he told her with a grin of his own. "Not to mention you're working me hard, here. Can I help it if I end up hungry enough to eat a behemoth?"

"Then I guess it's my responsibility to make sure you get fed properly," Aerith said. "Which means I'm definitely not going to send you off to get other food, or make you rely on military rations. I wouldn't want you to waste away. Speaking of work, though, we'd better get back to it if we're going to get them all settled today! I'd hate to leave any in those cramped little pots when there's a great big space for them to grow in."

"They'd probably get all jealous of the ones we'd already planted, too," Zack agreed, going along with it. He squeezed her fingers and released her, clambering to his feet.

When he then turned and offered her a hand up, she looked at it for a moment before smiling up at him. "You're really very sweet," she declared, accepting his hand and letting him pull her up. "I think perhaps I'll have to keep you." Going up on tiptoe, she kissed him - not on the cheek this time, but a gentle touch of her mouth to his.

It was over before he had a chance to really enjoy it, and he cleared his throat as she stepped back. As much as he wanted to go after her and indulge in a more thorough kiss, something held him back. That was the best sign he'd had so far that she welcomed his attention, but somehow he thought he'd lose the progress he'd made if he tried to push things further right now. "Well, I think my CO would have a few choice things to say if I didn't turn up for duty on time, but you're welcome to keep me as often as I have leave."

Damn it, he'd meant to say 'as _long_ as I have leave', not 'often'. He didn't want to imply any kind of long-term commitment. It wouldn't be fair to lead her on, for one thing, not when he might not get leave again for another whole year. But Aerith was smiling at him, looking pleased in a way that made him feel a little overheated, and he forgot to correct himself.

"I guess I've got an extra reason to hope the war ends soon, then," she said. "Presumably you get leave more often during peacetime?"

Gamely, he decided to just go with it. He'd look stupid trying to retract his words now. And it wasn't as if he'd _mind_ seeing her again. He just didn't want her to end up resenting him for getting her tied up with someone who would never have much time for her. "I'd imagine so," he replied, scratching his head. "I can't say from experience, since the war started long before I signed up. I hear SOLDIERs don't stay in one place much, but we do tend to have Midgar as our home base."

"Then I'll just have to save up all the back-breaking labour for when you're around," Aerith declared cheerfully. "For now, we've got seedlings to plant. Shall we?" Laughing at the threat, Zack grabbed the next tray and got to work.

The second half went slower than the first, because now they weren't even trying to pretend they weren't stealing an excuse to brush their fingers together every time they met at the end of the rows. Zack found himself intoxicated by the little touches they exchanged, leaving him feeling giddy and excited. He felt like a school boy with a crush, and he hoped he'd get it out of his system before he got back to HQ tonight or he was never going to hear the end of it from the others. Especially if they found out he hadn't even _kissed_ her properly, let alone slept with her. Damned if it wouldn't be worth the teasing, though.

Finally the last of the seedlings was safely in its new home, and he stood with a groan. Stretching his arms up over his head, he winced as his back cracked loudly. He might be able to take more damage than an ordinary person, but that didn't stop his back from feeling sore after a whole day on his hands and knees.

Aerith didn't seem any the worse for wear, but presumably she was used to it. "So I guess you need to go sell flowers again now, huh?" he asked as she started picking through the fully-grown blooms. "Are you ever going to let me take you to dinner?"

"How about tomorrow night?" she asked, grinning at him when he blinked at her in astonishment. "There won't really be anything to do here tomorrow, so I'll go out during the day. Once the sun goes down, I'm all yours. Sound good?"

"That sounds fantastic," Zack exclaimed, delighted. "Just dinner, or do I get you for the whole night?" Plans flitted through his head for things they could do; dancing or a movie, maybe. Then the perfect answer struck him, and he grinned. "Do you have a curfew or anything?"

"You let me worry about my mother," Aerith said firmly. "As long as you have me back in time to get at least a few hours of rest before dawn, I'll be fine."

"Good." Zack's eyes gleamed. "Dress nice for dinner, but bring a warm change of clothes with you. Preferably pants."

"Oh? What are you up to?" She gave him a curious look, but he just shook his head and smiled. Mock-pouting, she tossed her head and planted her hands on her hips, the basket full of fresh flowers dangling from one wrist. "Hmph! Be that way, then. All right, I'll meet you here tomorrow at five."

"It's a date," Zack said, and she smiled again. "Don't be late!"

"I won't," she promised. "Now shoo, so I can concentrate on my work!" she scolded him, flapping one hand at him in a 'go away' gesture.

"Yes ma'am," Zack saluted her, making her laugh again, before turning to go. Forget about getting it out of his system before he got back, it was never going to happen. Let the guys on base tease him tonight for the stupid grin he was probably wearing. Tomorrow he was going to take an incredibly pretty girl out for a night to remember, and if he was very lucky and played his cards just right, he might even get laid. The assurance that she didn't need to be back until late was certainly promising. What more could a SOLDIER on leave ask for?


	4. Chapter 4

Some day, Zack promised himself as he ran from the station towards the church, he was going to find out which god was responsible for the days when absolutely _nothing_ went right, hunt down his materia and summon him, and give him a good ass-kicking to teach him a lesson. Nobody should be forced to suffer days like this, certainly not during precious leave time!

Only repeated reminders to himself that he had his date with Aerith to look forward to had gotten him through the cluster-fuck his day had been. Spilling too-hot coffee on himself and suffering burns bad enough to need a Cure spell hadn't been the best start to the morning. Getting dragged into a random street brawl and then having to spend hours filling out incident reports as a result had _not_ been how he'd planned to spend the better part of his day. And now, to top it all off, he was going to be late meeting Aerith.

He jogged up the stairs to the church, panting a little but nowhere near out of breath and very grateful to the SOLDIER enhancements that had let him run all this way. If he'd had to go as slow as a normal person, he'd have been _really_ late.

"Aerith!" he called as he pushed the doors open and entered. "I'm really sorry I'm late, you would not _believe_ the day I've... huh?" He broke off and stared as he realized the church was empty except for the flowers. "Aerith?"

Thinking she might be in the back room, he walked to the door and poked his head in, but it was empty as well. Puzzled, he went back to the flowers and looked around for some sign of her. He wasn't _that_ late, only about ten minutes. She wouldn't have given up on him and left already, surely.

Of course, she might be having a day like his and be late as well. Zack was just about ready to conclude that must be the case when he spotted her basket lying half under a pew, tipped on its side with a few wilting blossoms spilling out of it.

Freezing, Zack stared at it for a moment, his heart in his throat. He couldn't imagine any reason for her to have left it like that, unless she'd had to leave in a hurry. The memory of her reaction to him the first day when he'd been following her returned to him, and he swore and bolted for the door.

If he'd been running fast to get here from the station, he was practically flying now. Even the monsters seemed to know enough to stay out of his way, and the one or two that stumbled into his path he fried before they even had a chance to attack him. He made it to sector five in record time, then skidded to a halt just inside the sector wall as he realized he had no idea where to go from here.

Assuming she'd run for home at all, but if she wasn't there then he didn't know where to start looking for her. And he'd feel really dumb if he scoured the lower levels for her and she turned out to have been safe at home all along. So 'home' was where he needed to start. The only problem was, he still had no clue where she lived.

Most of the people in the sector did, though. Zack looked around and sized up the few people who were out and about, and picked a tired-looking matronly woman. "Hey! Excuse me. Do you know Aerith, the flower girl? Can you tell me where she lives, please? It's really important."

She sniffed and gave him a disapproving look. "If she wanted you to know, young man, she'd have told you herself. You can ask her next time you see her selling flowers."

"No, wait!" Zack grabbed the woman's arm before she could turn away, careful not to exert too much pressure. "Listen to me, I'm a friend of hers. She was supposed to meet me at the church fifteen minutes ago, but all I found was her flower basket. I just want to know if she made it home safely before I go pelting off to look everywhere else. Please!"

"Oh!" The woman looked startled, then concerned. "You must be that nice young SOLDIER boy who's been helping her with the flowers. She's hardly been talking about anything else for days! Do you really think she's in trouble?"

The knowledge that Aerith had been talking about him made his cheeks heat, but he shook his head. "I don't know, but I'd rather look like a paranoid idiot than drop it and find out later that she needed help. Can you tell me how to get to her house?"

Nodding, the woman rattled off directions, and Zack memorized them grimly. They were complicated, since there was no such thing as a direct route between anything down here, but he'd had to remember far more complex field instructions in the past. Once he was sure he had it all, he waved his thanks and took off running again.

There weren't any monsters in the streets of sector five, but the people slowed him down even more. After all, he couldn't just zap them with a spell to get them out of his way, though he was tempted a time or two. Finally he came to the last corner before he would reach Aerith's house, and slowed to a stop. He didn't want to just go charging out without knowing what was going on; that could get them both in a lot of trouble. Instead he peered around the corner, and scowled.

Three men in dark suits stood outside, and Zack didn't have to be close enough to see details to know they were Turks. Normal businessmen didn't carry themselves like lethal weapons, and who else would wear a suit down here? Two of them were hanging back, clearly deferring to the third as the leader. He was standing on the doorstep, talking to someone through the narrow opening in the door.

Deciding that just walking up probably wouldn't get him shot, Zack shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered up the walk. Under other circumstances he would have been marvelling at the grass growing along the path, and the sight of the big garden on the other side of the house. As it was, all his attention was focused on the Turks.

"...not going to be able to avoid him forever," the dark-haired one at the doorway was saying. Now that he was closer, Zack could see that it was Aerith standing at the door, but she had the safety chain on so that it couldn't be forced open more than a few inches. The Turk could easily have shot her through the narrow opening, of course, but from the little Zack knew he didn't think they were likely to try to hurt Aerith. Much.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked as he approached, his voice low and full of warning. Aerith glanced at him over the Turk's shoulder, and he thought he saw her relax marginally.

"Not until you showed up," one of the two hanging back commented lazily, twirling his emag rod for emphasis. "Beat it, yo. And stay out of other people's business if you know what's good for you."

Zack was taken aback for a moment. He was unusual in the fact that he had people he was friendly with among the Turks; there was a long-standing not-so-friendly rivalry between the Turks and the SOLDIERs, and both groups tended to view the other with a certain amount of contempt. Even so, most Turks would hesitate before actively picking a fight with a SOLDIER.

Then he realized that dressed in civvies and with his sunglasses still on, the Turks hadn't realized he was anything more than an ordinary passer-by. He turned his gaze on Aerith, ignoring the Turks. "Aerith? Everything okay?"

"It's fine, Zack," she assured him, in a voice that was just a little too steady to be casual. "Just a visit from an old neighbour. Right, Tseng?" She looked back at the Turk on the doorstep, who quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Indeed. I hadn't thought you were the type to get others involved in your problems, Aerith. We may be at a stalemate for now, but I'd hate to see someone innocent dragged in to be used against you." Zack wasn't sure if that had been a threat or a warning, but either way it got his hackles up.

"The day a 2nd Class can't handle a couple of Turks is a sad day for Shinra," he snorted, shoving his sunglasses up and giving the man an unfriendly look. Tseng's mouth tightened at the sight of the unmistakeable mako glow in Zack's eyes, and the loudmouthed one bit off a curse.

"My mistake," Tseng said smoothly. "We should be going. Take care of yourself, Aerith."

"You too," she said politely, looking even more relieved that a fight hadn't broken out. Zack stood just to one side with his arms folded over his chest, and made the Turks detour slightly off the path to avoid hitting him.

Once they were out of sight around the corner, Aerith sighed and closed the door long enough to take the chain off. "I'm sorry you had to see that," she said as she walked out onto the stoop. "I don't mind so much when they send Tseng, I really have known him since childhood. But it still makes me nervous. Sooner or later whatever power play is happening between the Turks and Hojo will be over, and it will stop being an 'invitation'." She shivered, and he moved to take her in his arms without thinking about it.

"Well, I know I can't promise much help once I'm back in Wutai," Zack said into her hair, "but anytime I'm in the city, you can always come to me for help. Sephiroth doesn't think much of Hojo, every SOLDIER knows that, and I don't think it's likely to change any time soon. So at least you can trust that _I'm_ never going to be ordered to bring you in."

"Thanks," she said warmly, leaning against his shoulder, much to his delight. "I've managed on my own this long, but I'll keep it in mind. Are you really a 2nd Class?"

"Only on paper," he admitted with a rueful laugh. "I got a field promotion, that's the whole reason I'm here in Midgar, to get the second enhancements."

Thinking fast, Zack narrowed his eyes. She was still tense in his arms, and somehow he knew that she wasn't the sort of person to be revitalized by being in a crowd like he was. The restaurant he'd been planning to take her to was high class and very popular with Midgar's upper crust at the moment, so it was going to be full of snobby people. It was a shame that she'd already gotten all dressed up, and she looked amazing in her sleek red dress, but he didn't want the day to be spoiled further.

"Change in plans," he declared. "As much as I'd love sitting around getting to admire you in that dress, I think something a little more relaxing is in order. Unless you've really got your heart set on a fancy dinner?" She shook her head and looked relieved. "Good. Go get changed into your warm clothes, then. I'll find somewhere to change and meet you back here."

"You can just come inside," she invited, opening the door again. "I talked my mother into going to stay with a friend in sector eight that she doesn't see very often. Now I'm doubly glad I did, she gets so worried when things like this happen."

"I can see why," Zack said, relieved that she wasn't going to get in trouble. He'd just been hoping that her mother hadn't been watching, and therefore hadn't seen Zack hug Aerith like that, since Aerith had already said she thought her mother would be upset to find out that she was dating a SOLDIER.

Stepping inside, Zack looked around with undisguised curiosity. It was a snug little house, all one big open room on the ground floor as was common in the lower levels of Midgar. There were fresh flowers in vases, and cheerful curtains and tablecloths that made the room look much brighter and bigger than it was. "Reminds me of home," he proclaimed, smiling. "My mom and yours would get along, I think."

"You can change in the bathroom," she said, indicating a little door off to one side. "I'll just run upstairs, I won't be a moment." Leaving him to it, she trotted up the stairs and vanished onto the second floor.

A little disappointed that he didn't get to see her bedroom, but figuring he probably shouldn't push his luck, Zack shut the bathroom door and changed quickly. He'd brought a pack with his extra clothes, planning to leave it at the church when they went to the restaurant. Thankfully he hadn't thought to dump it before he'd realized something was wrong and went chasing after Aerith. He shoved the dressy shirt and slacks into the bag once he was done, not caring if they got wrinkled since he wasn't likely to need them again soon. He'd be back to living in his uniform once he got out of the labs.

To his surprise he found her already waiting for him when he emerged, freshly scrubbed and dressed in a warm sweater and jeans. She laughed at the look on his face. "Not all girls take half an hour to get ready, you know," she scolded him. "Though if we'd been doing this the other way around and I needed to get fancy, it would have been a different story."

With her hair in a ponytail and all the makeup washed off, Zack thought she looked even better than she had all dressed up. "You look great," he said appreciatively. "Next question, is there something we can grab quickly here for dinner, or do we stop somewhere on our way?"

"Our way to where?" Aerith asked. "Oh, you're so stubborn!" she added when he only grinned at her. "I can throw together some sandwiches and the like. I'd rather have that than what most people call food out there, but weren't you supposed to be treating me?"

"I'll make it up to you," he promised her. "We need a package, not a basket. And be sure there's nothing that will spill or leak!"

Now openly curious, Aerith followed his instructions and shortly had the makings for a decent picnic dinner wrapped up in a cloth. He scooped it up with a grin, caught her hand in his, and tugged her towards the door. "Okay, let's go before curiosity eats you alive."

"I'm not that bad," she protested mildly, following him out. "I just want to know where we're going!"

"You'll see when we get there," Zack told her, and ducked a swat with a laugh. "Come on, first stop is the train station. We need to go above the plate."

Despite his playful mood, Zack kept a very sharp eye out for signs of the Turks, both in sector 5 and on the train. There was one; not one of the ones who'd been at Aerith's house, and he kept to the far end of the train, so Zack let him be. It might have been a coincidence, or it might be someone watching them, but as long as they weren't overt he wasn't inclined to pick a fight and spoil the night.

If Aerith noticed or worried about the presence of the lone Turk, she gave no sign of it. She curled her hand around Zack's and leaned against his side, standing much closer than the half-empty train required. Not that he was complaining.

The Turk didn't follow them off the train, and Zack didn't spot any more, so he let himself relax a bit. They were in a wealthy part of the city now, the area where the restaurant he'd chosen was. "I thought we weren't going to dinner?" Aerith asked when she saw where they were. There wasn't much in this area but houses and upper class shops and restaurants.

"We're not, but this is where I left my bike, since I thought we'd be coming from here," Zack explained. "It seemed wiser than leaving it unattended down beneath the plate. I'm not stupid enough to think it would still be there when I came back. You're not scared of bikes, right?" She gave him an indignant look, and he chuckled. "I didn't think so, but it's always good to check. Here we go."

They'd reached the lot where he'd left his bike, and he found it quickly among the posh little cars. "One of the first things I ever bought with my military pay, and I never did get much chance to enjoy it before I was shipped out," he declared as he dropped his pack on the saddle. He reached into the saddlebag to produce a helmet and his Shinra-issue peacoat, offering them to her. "Here, take this. It's going to be really cold in the wind, that sweater isn't going to do much for you."

"Will you be okay in just that leather jacket?" she asked as she took the coat and pulled it on. It was too big for her, of course, but not as bad as it could have been, since it was the one he'd been issued right at the start. He hadn't needed it in the tropical environment of Wutai. "And shouldn't you have a helmet too?"

"I'll be fine," he assured her with a grin. He stowed his pack and their dinner in the saddlebags and swung a leg over the seat. "Hop on, and hold on tight!"

She slid into place behind him, pressed close against him with her arms around his waist. He could just catch hints of the fragrance of flowers, and almost imagined he could feel her heat even through all their layers of clothes. Mentally he made a note to do this again in the summer some time, when he could really enjoy feeling her against him.

Once she was settled he kicked the engine over and pulled out of the parking lot. He merged with the traffic, taking the first ramp that led up to the main highway. It was busy at this time of day, filled with the last of the rush hour traffic and the start of the nightlife traffic. The bike wove in and out of the cars easily, his SOLDIER reflexes allowing him to take split-second opportunities that probably would have resulted in an accident for anyone else. He couldn't hear her over the wind, but somehow he knew her shaking against his back was from laughter and not fear.

When she realized he was heading for the city gates, her arms tightened and she shouted what was probably a question. He just shook his head and shot her a quick grin over his shoulder, concentrating on getting them out of the city as quickly as possible.

 

Once outside, the traffic dropped off abruptly. Few people had any reason to travel outside of Midgar, and even fewer wanted to. The land was ugly and dead for miles around, all the life drained from it just as it had been from the city itself. Nothing grew around Midgar except the occasional weed.

She hunched against him and her arms tightened again, and he thought she was hiding her face against his shoulder. If he hadn't needed to watch the road, he probably wouldn't have been looking either. Inside the city it was easy to fool yourself about the true scope of the problem, but when there was nothing between you and the horizon but lifeless dirt, it really hit home.

Worse still, he was going to have to ride right through it. The only roads leading from Midgar were the ones to Kalm and Junon, and neither of those went in the direction he wanted. He took the bike up and over the curb, out onto the plains, and headed northwest as fast as he dared to go. The moon was only about half full, but that was enough for him to see where he was going. At least they were moving too fast for the monsters to catch them.

It took about twenty minutes to leave the desolated area behind. Slowly vegetation began to creep in; first scattered patches of snow-covered grass, then bushes and even trees. Once he could look around and not spot any dead areas, Zack nudged Aerith with an elbow and felt her lift her head again. She sighed and relaxed, though she returned her head to his shoulder.

Finally he saw the moon glinting off something large and dark in the distance, and he grinned. Adjusting his course slightly as he took in the landmarks, he headed for a bluff he knew that overlooked the ocean. He'd found this place while out hunting monsters as part of his boot camp training, and marked the spot in his mind because it had such a fantastic view. Since then he hadn't had an opportunity to return, but what better time could he pick than tonight?

When he brought the bike to a sideways stop and cut the engine, the sudden silence was almost deafening. "Close your eyes," he ordered her. The visor of that helmet was tinted, and in the dim moonlight she probably couldn't see much of anything. When he turned and tugged the helmet off, he found her eyes closed obediently.

Taking her by the hand, he urged her off the bike. Once she was standing he led her to one side. "Don't open them yet," he warned her, going back to retrieve the package of food and the thick blanket stuffed into the other saddlebag. There wasn't much snow here, as the winds from the ocean swept it all further inland, but the ground would be cold and hard and uncomfortable to sit on.

The normal noises of the plains at night were returning, and now they could hear the rush of the waves on the rocky beach below. He spread the blanket out at the edge of the bluff, led her onto it and pushed gently on her shoulder to get her to sit down. Once she was settled he dropped down beside her. "Okay, now you can open them," he told her, leaning forward to be able to watch her face.

Aerith gasped and lifted a hand to her mouth, her eyes shining in awe. It really was a stunning view, with the ocean stretched out to the horizon and stars shining all the way to infinity in the night sky. This far from the city they were free of the air and light pollution that reduced the stars in Midgar to a few feeble points, and the phrase 'as many as the stars in the sky' actually had meaning again. There was hardly an inch of sky that didn't have at least a dim star shining in it, and the bright ones far outnumbered the dim. The shimmering arc of the galaxy crossed the sky in one corner, breathtaking when you realized that the river of light was all stars.

"Oh," she said, and her voice trembled. "Oh, Zack. It's _beautiful_." She huddled closer to him, and he put one arm around her in response.

"Never been outside the city before?" he asked curiously.

"Not since I was a little girl," she told him. "I don't really remember. Certainly I wouldn't have forgotten anything as lovely as this!"

Looking at her, with her eyes shining and lips parted, her breath misting and her cheeks pink from the cold air, Zack had to agree. He'd never seen anything as beautiful as this.

Clearing his throat, he looked around and snagged their dinner. "Come on, let's eat before it gets frozen instead of just cold," he said, and she turned to him with a smile.

Unpacking the sandwiches took moments, and they sat together in contented silence, eating their dinner under the awning of the stars. The weather had obliged him by staying beautifully clear, although that meant it was correspondingly colder. Bundled up in his peacoat Aerith didn't seem to be shivering, and Zack was resistant enough to cold that his warm leather jacket was enough for him. He was glad; it would have been a damn shame to have to cut the night short because of the cold. Especially considering what was yet to come.

"Thank you so much, Zack. This is exactly what I needed - to be out in the open in a place where the earth isn't crying out as it dies," Aerith sighed happily as they put the garbage back into the package. "To see green things growing that I didn't put there! Oh, it's wonderful. Thank you."

"Hey, you don't need to thank me," Zack told her, smiling back. "I'm just paying you back for everything you've given me, letting me work in your garden. I haven't felt this good in ages."

"I'm so glad you followed me that day," she replied. "And that I didn't scare you off by ambushing you like that!"

He laughed. "Aerith, honey, ambushing me was what made me so determined to see you again! I've never met anyone like you. Smart and determined and resourceful, and so crazy brave you don't even hesitate to ambush a SOLDIER. You're amazing."

"Flattery like that will get you nowhere," she warned him in a mock-scolding tone. Looking around at the incredible view again, her voice softened as she added, " _This_ might, though."

"Hey, it's not flattery, it's the truth!" Zack protested, his heart beating a little faster in anticipation. Looked like he might have played his cards right after all. Boldly he shifted closer, tugging at her until she was sitting cradled between his legs with his arms draped around her. Far from protesting, she leaned back against his chest with a contented sigh, her head tucked under his chin. It would have been a lot better without all the clothes in the way, but Zack was just happy she was letting him hold her like this.

A streak of light caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and he grinned. Time for the after dinner finale. "Look," he urged, and pointed. The falling star he'd seen was already gone, of course, but before Aerith could ask what was so interesting about that particular piece of sky, there was another. And another, and two more in quick succession, until it became obvious that it was the beginning of a meteor shower.

"Oh!" Aerith's eyes went wide, and she leaned even closer to him so she could tip herself back and see it more easily, tilting her head back on his shoulder. He willingly played the part of her chair, loving the feel of her hair as it brushed his neck and the sweet scent of her hanging in the cold air.

"I'm kinda glad you made me wait this long to take you out," Zack murmured in her ear with a soft chuckle. "It was fortuitous timing. It's supposed to last about twenty minutes, so we'll get a good show."

"It's beautiful," she exclaimed, not taking her eyes off the sky. The flashes were coming faster now, silver streaks against the night sky that momentarily eclipsed the stars behind. "So many! Make a wish, though you certainly don't need to be quick about it. I suppose it would be cheating to make a wish for each one?"

Looking up at the rapidly increasing number of streaks, he laughed. "Yeah, I think that would be cheating," he agreed, returning his gaze to her awe-struck face. "Did you make one?"

"Yes, on the first one I saw," she replied, smiling. "Did you?"

Tightening his arms a bit, Zack shook his head. "Nah. I'd have to be as greedy as old man Shinra to wish for anything right now."

That made her look at him, with the mischievous sparkle back in her eyes. "Oh? You can't think of anything at all that would make you happier right now?"

"Well, maybe just one thing," Zack admitted, his voice gone husky. Now, finally, his instincts told him the time was right to make his move. He leaned in, tilting his head down to bring his mouth to hers, kissing her properly at last. She tasted of mint and snow and somehow of _life_ , though he couldn't have described exactly what the taste was.

Brushing his tongue over her lips, he coaxed her to open her mouth. When she did and he tasted her more deeply, her tongue flicked against his in brief little touches, more shy than coy. The knowledge that he might be the first person to ever kiss her like this made him moan, and suddenly he was grateful for all the layers between them that kept her from realizing how hard he was getting.

They hadn't brought any alcohol along with their dinner, but somehow Zack felt drunk anyway, intoxicated by the taste of her. He couldn't get enough, pulling away only briefly to allow them both to gasp for air, closing the gap again as soon as he could. The beauty of the falling stars was lost in the haze of pleasure he was feeling.

The guys in the locker room might tease him for spending days wooing a girl when he could have had a different one with half an hour's effort, but Ifrit's blood, it was worth it. _She_ was worth it.

It shouldn't have surprised him that she would be a fast learner, copying his movements at first awkwardly and then with more confidence. She tasted him back, their tongues sliding against each other and occasionally duelling briefly before going back to stroking.

He wanted more, wanted to slip his hands inside the coat and under her sweater to cup her breasts, wanted to push her back into the snow and strip her down and to hell with the cold, wanted to be on her and in her and flying all the way to the stars with her. At the same time, he wanted this moment to go on forever, to always feel this sweet sense of astonished wonder at how _good_ she felt.

"Zack," she moaned when he pulled back again, and turned her face to hide against his neck. They were both breathing too fast, the winter air chilling their lungs but somehow not cooling Zack's inner heat in the least. His heart was pounding hard enough that he was surprised she didn't comment on it.

"You're... you're missing the show," he reminded her, his voice hoarse with desire. She turned her head back again, looking up at the stars, and the feel of her breath against his jaw made him shiver.

"You picked a lousy time to start something, making me have to choose between you and something I won't have a chance to see again for a long time," she accused him breathlessly, laughing softly. "And I can't believe I'm actually tempted to pick you!"

Hearing that made the fire spread all through his body, and he shuddered as his cock hardened to the point where it was pressing painfully against the fly of his jeans. "Watch the stars," he told her despite the way his body was screaming at him to say just the opposite. "They'll be gone soon, but I'll still be here."

She resettled herself more comfortably against him, and they both turned their attention back to the sky. The shower was in full swing now, lighting up a section of the night sky. Zack wasn't startled when Aerith wrapped her hand around his, but he _was_ surprised when she tugged it under her coat to rest on her flat stomach. Over the sweater, but he couldn't expect _everything_ to go his way.

When she let go he slipped his hand upwards, brushing his gloved fingers against the underside of her breasts and then, when she didn't protest, cupping one in his hand. It was small enough for him to be able to cover it all, but full enough for him to be able to feel the weight of it. She moaned as his palm slid over her nipple, and he was amazed at how sensitive she was.

"You're distracting me," she protested, but she arched her back to push herself more firmly into his hand.

"You started it," he reminded her. He tugged the glove off his other hand with his teeth, then slipped it quickly under her jacket as well before it had a chance to get too cold. Even so she squealed softly and shivered when he worked his fingers under her sweater and felt the smooth skin of her stomach beneath.

"Zack!" she gasped, and this time he wasn't sure if it was encouragement or a warning. She'd gone all tense and he didn't think that was a good sign, but her voice sounded needy.

"Shh, it's okay," he whispered in her ear, and made no move to work that hand higher. Instead he just left it there, rubbing slow circles over the tense muscles of her abdomen, once in a while just barely brushing beneath her waistband. His other hand kneaded her breast through the sweater, and she slowly relaxed against him again. He was so hard it was all he could do not to tug her further back and rock up against her, desperate for the friction, but somehow he managed to keep his hips still.

Under other circumstances, with a different girl, Zack might have accused her of being a tease or leading him on, but he knew that wasn't her intention. He was willing to go at her pace - even if it killed him. He fought the urge to squirm, now wishing he hadn't brought the blanket so he could have hoped the cold earth beneath him might help him stay in control.

"You're trembling," she noted, her own voice a little shaky. He couldn't help but laugh, though the sound was a bit strangled.

"What can I say? You're just that hot," he replied, and bit at the shell of her ear gently. She moaned and jerked against him, and he groaned in turn. She did it again, deliberately, rocking back into him in a way that quickly broke his control and left him rubbing against her in shallow little thrusts. He buried his face in her shoulder and made a sound that was embarrassingly close to a whimper. "That's not fair," he gasped, his words muffled by the heavy fabric of the coat. "Aerith..."

"What's not fair?" she retorted, shivering against him in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature. "I bet you could get off just from this, but I'd have to get _cold_ to be satisfied!"

Even though he already knew she was a vixen, hearing her say something like that made streaks of fire shoot straight through Zack to his groin. He groaned again, struggling to control his breathing. He was starting to seriously reconsider his initial conclusion that she'd never done this before. Though that didn't explain why she'd been so awkward at kissing. Nice girls weren't supposed to give it up this easy, were they? Not that he hadn't been hoping, but he'd expected to have to work harder for it. Especially if it was her first time.

"I dunno, I could probably find a way to manage," he said with the cocky self-assurance unique to teenage boys everywhere. "Want me to try?"

"Oh, don't tempt me," Aerith replied, shivering in his arms. "Not only do I not want to miss the falling stars, but there's a perfectly nice warm house we could use back in Midgar."

"You..." Zack let out a shuddering breath, and nuzzled into her neck below the curve of her ear, making her gasp. "You'd let me?" He could wait that long, really he could. He was a SOLDIER, damn it, he was supposed to have more discipline than this. But the fact that she had hesitated when he'd put his hand under her sweater nagged at him. "Aerith, don't do this just for me, okay? I'm a big boy, I can handle a little frustration, honest." Firmly he told his protesting hormones to go take a hike.

She was quiet for so long he was afraid he'd done something wrong, or that she'd changed her mind and was trying to find a nice way to let him down. Finally she sighed softly, and rested her hand over the one he had on her stomach. "I want this," she told him firmly. "I want you. I'm just a little nervous, but if you'll be patient with me it will be okay." Shifting in his arms so she was half turned towards him, she kissed him gently.

He kept it light, though it took an effort, knowing that if they got caught up in each other again he might well forget about the lure of a warm comfortable bed that was all the way back in Midgar. "I'll be as patient as you want," he promised when he pulled back. "Just remember you can stop any time, all right? No matter what." Fervently he prayed she wouldn't take him up on it, because he wasn't really sure his self-control was that good.

"Now, watch the stars," he reminded her. "It's almost over, you don't want to miss the end."

In silence they sat together and watched the end of the meteor shower. Zack dropped his hand so that both were clasped around her waist, tracing idle patterns on her skin with his thumbs. She had her hands over his on top of the sweater, not restraining him but just for the contact. She'd moved her hips just a few inches away from his again, which let him cool down enough to get his ragged breathing back under control and make his heart stop pounding so hard.

After all this teasing, though, he was dreadfully afraid he was going to embarrass himself when they did finally get back to her place. He resolved to leave his jacket open on the ride back, and hope the cold wind would help calm him further.

Even after the last of the falling stars had faded, they sat and just watched the sky. This was Aerith's treat, and Zack had no intentions of leaving until she was ready to go. From the sounds of it she didn't exactly get many chances to leave the city, and he didn't want to rush her through it.

When she did stir against him he might almost have been disappointed, if not for the promise of what was waiting for him when they returned to Midgar. Scrambling to his feet, he offered her a hand up and shivered as the cold air hit his ungloved hand. After the warmth of her body, the harsh air was like a stinging slap.

Quickly he tugged his glove back on, and they both cleaned up the blanket and remains of dinner. It was the work of moments to get it all tucked back into the saddlebags. Zack stole one last heated kiss before Aerith put her helmet on, and then they were ready to go.

The trip back into the city was almost painful. As they left the beautiful green land behind and entered the wastelands around Midgar, Aerith's grip tightened until it probably would have bruised a non-SOLDIER, and she once again buried her face in his shoulder to hide from the sight of it. He felt bad; probably taking her out where the land was living made it even harder for her to face the dead earth around the city. He hoped she wouldn't end up regretting the trip.

She didn't lift her head even after they got back inside the city walls. Making a split-second decision, Zack turned off the highway on the ramp that led down beneath the plate, heading for sector 5. There was no reason for them to have to walk all the way back down.

Only when he coasted the bike to a halt and cut the engine at the end of the path that led to her house did Aerith finally pull away from him. "I thought you were afraid of someone stealing the bike?" she asked in surprise as she realized where they were.

"I figure, the respect you seem to get from the people down here, they probably won't touch anything at your place," Zack told her with a grin. "I spent a little time under the plate before I made it into the army, I know how it works. If they're _all_ this protective of you, they won't put up with anyone messing with you or your stuff."

She smiled. "Yes, everyone is very kind," she agreed. "Why didn't you just drive right up to the house?"

"Didn't want to tear up the path," Zack explained, pushing the bike along as he walked onto the path. "Figured your mom might question that. The dirt's hard enough that the wheels shouldn't leave too much of an impression this way, though."

Giggling, she wrapped her arms around one of his and walked beside him. "You're clever," she complimented him. "Or is it just that you're much too accustomed to getting into trouble, and have learned how to avoid it?"

"A little of both," he admitted freely, and she giggled again. "What can I say, I was an adventurous kid. Well, _I_ call it adventurous. My mom called it 'troublesome'. There's a reason I'm so good with flowers, and it's got nothing to do with volunteering. I... hey, we didn't leave the lights on, did we?" he interrupted himself, blinking at the house in surprise as they turned the corner in the path.

It was difficult to tell in the ever-present light under the plate, but all of the lights on the ground floor were indeed on. For a moment Zack thought maybe the Turks had returned, but Aerith gasped in dismay and clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Oh no," she moaned. "My mother came back! She was supposed to be gone all night!"

Zack suppressed a groan as he realized that there was no way he and Aerith were going to be able to follow through on their plans for the rest of the night. Even if she changed her mind and decided to introduce him to her mother, he doubted the woman would be willing to turn a blind eye on them if they went up to Aerith's room and shut the door.

"I'm so sorry," Aerith apologized, looking up at him with worry in her eyes. "Zack, I didn't mean to lead you on, truly I didn't. I... suppose we could go to the church?"

"What? Hell, no," Zack shook his head, despite how tempted he was to take her up on the offer. That would just be selfish of him, and probably get her in a lot more trouble. "Someone must have told her about the Turks coming after you, and she came back," he pointed out. "And anyway, even if she doesn't know about the Turks, she's going to want to know where you've been."

Looking dismayed, Aerith nodded. "Oh, you're probably right, someone must have tracked her down and warned her. "She must be worried sick. I'm so...!"

Zack hushed her before she could apologize again with a quick kiss. "Not your fault," he told her firmly. "Anyway, I've still got three days of leave. If you don't end up grounded for a month," he gave her a wry grin, "then I'll see you tomorrow at the garden?"

"Even if I'm grounded, she won't keep me from going to the garden," Aerith agreed with a sigh of relief. With another of her impish smiles, she tugged him back around the corner where there was no chance that they'd be seen from the house, and kissed him more thoroughly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she promised when they pulled back again, both breathing a little fast. "Bright and early."

"Once again, your wish is my command," Zack told her, laughing softly as she handed back his coat and helmet. He watched as she hurried off around the corner, and waited until he heard the distant sound of the door opening and closing.

Then he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes tight, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to distract himself from the protests his body was making. It was already after midnight, he could certainly restrain himself for another five or six hours until he saw her again. Though he had no illusions about exactly how long it would take him to have his hand around his dick and get off once he got back to HQ.

Five or six hours, he reminded himself as he rolled the bike back to the road and swung his leg over the saddle. Hells, it would probably even do him some good to have a chance to release some of the tension _before_ he got serious with Aerith. Less likely to embarrass himself that way. Just five or six hours, that was all.

He headed straight for his room once he was back on Shinra property, not even detouring to the locker room to get a shower. The showers were way too public, and there would still be a few people up and around even at this hour. He dropped his pack on the bed and was reaching for his pants as soon as he'd kicked the door shut behind him, desperate for some relief, before he spotted the official Shinra envelope that had been slipped under his door.

Hesitating, Zack debated with himself. He couldn't imagine that it could possibly be anything urgent, but given the day he'd been having if he ignored it then he was guaranteeing it would be. Cursing, he finally reached for it and tore it open with a vicious jerk.

It took him a moment to actually process what he was reading, and then he cried out in dismay. "Aw, no! No fucking way, that's not fair!" he railed at whichever god was responsible for his miserable day. It was the perfect cap to the day - a notice that a slot had opened in the lab schedule, and he was to present himself for his enhancements first thing in the morning.

He wouldn't even have time to run down into the city and apologize to Aerith. He'd have to write her a note and beg one of the others to bring it to her, and hope she wouldn't be too mad at him for standing her up _and_ telling someone the location of her sanctuary.

Cursing creatively, he crushed the paper in his fist and threw himself down on the bed. Chances were good he wouldn't even have an opportunity to see her again before he was shipped back to Wutai; his leave had ended the moment he received this notice.

Punching his pillow hard enough to burst the seam and send chocobo down fluttering into the air, Zack swore to himself that he would find _some_ way of at least saying goodbye to her before he left. She deserved that much, if nothing else.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to the artificial lighting under the plate, the church looked exactly the same at three in the morning as it did at three in the afternoon. Zack was a little sad; the church might be creepy in the dark, with its tumbling walls and half-smashed stained glass, but he thought the flowers would be beautifully ethereal in the moonlight.

The only real difference as he walked down the aisle was the fact that he was alone, and likely to stay that way. He'd had no opportunity to send a note to Aerith asking her to meet him, even assuming she could get away at this time of night. Or rather, it would have been simple enough to ask the same trooper he'd sent the last note with, but he hadn't been able to think of a way of doing it that wouldn't alert Shinra to the fact that he was planning to sneak off the base. They generally frowned on SOLDIERs going AWOL the night before they were being shipped back to Wutai.

Not that Zack was trying to run away from being sent back to the front lines. That was the farthest thing from his mind. No, he'd just wanted - _needed_ \- one last chance to feel the sense of peace this place radiated before he left.

A month of training had gotten him to the point that he was able to handle the changes in his body wrought by the 2nd Class enhancements, but he still wasn't used to the way that everything seemed sharper and clearer; colours were brighter, scents were stronger, sounds were louder, and he kept moving faster than he meant to. In this state, the garden was even more beautiful than he'd remembered it being, the flowers they'd planted now indistinguishable from the older blooms.

It had been long enough since his first infusions that he'd forgotten about the sense of restlessness that came with the mako injections, as if his body had too much energy and was trying to burn it off any way it could. That would fade with time, but for the moment he could hardly bear to stand still for more than a minute. He was hoping the garden would help bleed some of that energy off, as well as calming his nerves about going back to the front. Otherwise he was going to be so damn jittery he'd get himself killed on the first mission he got.

Briefly he tried settling in front of the flowers, but he lasted all of about thirty seconds before he was up and pacing again, his heavy booted footsteps echoing eerily off the walls. The flowers nodded gently in the wind of his passage, as if chiding him to sit and be patient. "Fat chance," he told them, shoving his hands in his pockets just for something to do with them.

He missed Aerith. It was stupid, really; they'd only had a few days together, there was no reason for him to miss her like this. He hoped she hadn't been too mad at him for standing her up. Her return message had been a verbal reassurance that she wasn't upset, but who really knew with girls? They could seem fine about something, and then six months down the road suddenly smack you with it.

The serenity of the garden _was_ helping, a little. Zack took slow, measured breaths and tried to match his pacing to his heart, hoping to steady the somewhat erratic rhythm of it. He'd also forgotten how much he hated this part. He was naturally restless, but he didn't like having it forced on him like this. It was as if he was constantly on an adrenalin high, which stopped feeling thrilling and became irritating after the first five minutes or so.

After fifteen minutes of pacing like that, he managed to put himself into a bit of a trance-like state. The air was full of the smell of green and growing things, heavily perfumed with the scents of the flowers. The church was silent except for the noises he made and the faint rustling of the flowers; it was easy to imagine he was the only person alive in the world right now.

Despite the silence, he was absorbed enough in his own thoughts that he somehow missed hearing the door open and quiet footsteps come towards him. "Zack?" Aerith called from a few feet away.

Startled, Zack nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled in a crouch, one hand hovering over the materia in his bracer, fighting his reflexes to keep from casting an offensive spell. "Aerith," he finally gasped, beating his instincts into submission. "Sweet Shiva, please don't sneak up on me like that!"

She looked like she'd dressed in a hurry; her dress was wrinkled as if it had been lying on the floor, and her hair was mussed and falling out of its braid. Her eyes were dark with concern as she took a step closer to him. "What's wrong? You're even more jumpy now than when I first met you."

"It's the mako," he explained, backing up a step to keep the same distance between them. It was all he could do not to crush her in his arms, he wanted to hold her so badly, but he remembered the way she'd flinched away from him that first day. As strong as the mako in his system was now, he might actually hurt her. "It makes you really wired for a while, until it works its way out of your system. That's why I came down, I was hoping the garden would help a little. What are you doing here at this time of night, anyway?"

Glancing past him at the little indoor meadow, she hesitated for a moment, then smiled at him. "The flowers told me you were here," she informed him, perfectly serious. "I thought something must be wrong."

"The flowers..." Wide-eyed, he trailed off and stared at her. There were times when he seriously wondered about her. Then again, how _could_ she have known that he was here? Shaking his head, he decided to let it stand as something he just wasn't going to get. "I'm sorry you were dragged out of bed. I'm glad you're here, though. I really wanted to see you again before I left."

"I'm glad too," she said warmly. "When you sent the message that your leave had been cancelled, I was afraid I wouldn't get another chance to see you before you were sent away."

"I'm really sorry about that," he apologized, hanging his head. "I felt like a complete heel standing you up that way, but you just can't argue with orders."

"Hush," she ordered him. "I know that. You have nothing to apologize for, Zack! Even if you hadn't been able to get a message to me, I would have understood. You're a SOLDIER, your time belongs to Shinra."

Before he could back up again, she stepped forward and laid a hand on his arm. As he'd expected she flinched, but she didn't pull away. "Oh! Goodness, that's strong. Doesn't it bother you?"

"Yeah," Zack shrugged, cautiously covering her hand with his. That didn't seem to hurt her further, so he squeezed gently. _Very_ gently - he had enough control over himself now that he was cleared to go back to the field, but he was still a lot stronger than he expected to be. "The worst of it fades, and you get used to the rest, but it takes a while. Did you get in a lot of trouble?"

"No, actually," Aerith said, looking vaguely guilty. "Mother assumed I'd left to get away from the Turks, so she didn't say anything. She was just happy that I was home safe and sound." Her expression turned wry, and she laughed. "Which means we _could_ have come here and I still wouldn't have gotten in trouble."

"But she would have worried," Zack pointed out, catching her other hand as well and bringing them both up to hold them before his chest. He looked down into her beautiful eyes, and felt himself falling a little more. "And then you'd _really_ have felt guilty, for messing around and making her more upset. You're a vixen, Aerith, but you're not the sort of hellion who would be able to brush off something like that and not feel bad about it."

"You're right," she agreed with a sigh. Then she pouted playfully, and twined her fingers with his. "But it might have been worth it! It's not any more fun for girls to be left hanging that way, you know. I hardly slept at all that night, and then when morning finally came you weren't here!"

Rubbing his thumbs over the soft skin on the backs of her hands, he smiled ruefully. "Trust me, I was at least as disappointed as you were. I'd _much_ rather have been here with you, whether we did anything or not, than on a cold table in the Shinra labs." He made a face, and she laughed.

"Well, I suppose that was punishment enough for you, then," she declared, much to his relief. Then his breath caught in his throat as her smile turned coy. "But you're here now. And so am I." She took another step closer, bringing them face to face just inches apart, their joined hands trapped between their bodies.

"Yeah, we are," he agreed, his voice gone husky as his eyes turned dark with desire. He honestly hadn't expected this, had thought that he'd have to work his way back into her good graces first, assuming he got the chance at all. "But I don't want to hurt you. With the mako in my system this strong..."

"It doesn't hurt," she assured him. "It's just a bit shocking, especially the first touch. Like touching a live wire that doesn't have quite enough power to be damaging. Which may present some interesting possibilities, actually, if the effect is sustained." Her eyes gleamed, and he nearly choked.

"Minx!" he accused her, and she laughed. "Well, there's only one way to find out, I guess."

Tugging her closer, he leaned down and met her mouth with his, kissing her gently. She shivered at the first contact and he almost thought she was going to pull away, but then she pressed closer instead. Tugging her hands free, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed against his chest.

The feel of her soft breasts pressing against him through her dress and his shirt was enough to make him gasp against her mouth, and this time she was the one who took advantage of the opening. She slipped her tongue into his mouth, tasting him, and he responded in kind. Today she tasted more like flowers and oranges, but still with that unnameable undertaste that he could only describe as 'life'.

"You are something else," he told her when they parted. He slipped his arms around her waist to keep her close, enjoying the way she felt, and she leaned happily into his body. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Not just this," he rocked his hips into her slightly to show what he meant, and she made a soft sound that went straight to his groin. "All of you. Did you cast some kind of spell on me, like you do on your flowers, so that I turn towards you instead of the sun?"

"You can't expect me to give away _all_ of my secrets," she chided him, eyes sparkling with mischief as much as heat. "And what sort of flattery is that, anyway? You're supposed to tell me I'm just that beautiful and captivating, not accuse me of needing to cast a spell on you to hold your attention!"

"Now you're just fishing for compliments," Zack told her, grinning. "You _are_ that beautiful." He kissed her, slowly and thoroughly, until they were both gasping into each other's mouths. "And extremely captivating," he added, fairly purring against her lips.

"Flatterer," Aerith accused him, laughing breathlessly.

"I just can't win with you, can I?" Zack shook his head in mock-disappointment. "Throw me a clue here?"

"You could always just have your wicked way with me, and ravish me senseless," Aerith pointed out, and Zack sucked in a sharp breath.

"Yeah, I could do that," he agreed, rocking into her again and making her gasp. The restlessness was overcoming him again, but instead of pulling away to pace more, he started running his hands slowly up and down her spine. He memorized every inch of her back beneath her dress, and wondered what it would feel like when they were skin to skin. "That sounds like a pretty good idea, actually."

She arched into his touch, and he was reminded of the way she'd pressed herself against his hands when they were watching the stars. "I want to touch you," he murmured into her skin, trailing his mouth over the column of her neck. "Let me see you."

Since she seemed to be having trouble forming coherent words while he was distracting her by mouthing at her neck like that, he took her lack of protest as assent and moved one hand from her back to her front. Gently he ran it up her torso, passing briefly over her breasts and making her shudder, but not lingering. She made a questioning noise, and he smiled into her skin.

His fingers wrapped around the first button on her dress, at the scooped-neck collar. They were tiny buttons, at least thirty of them all down the front of the dress. He had a feeling the garment was probably meant to be just pulled on over the head, not actually buttoned and unbuttoned, but it was much more fun this way.

Deftly he flicked the button free of its confining cloth, savouring the glassy texture of it and the rough contrast of the wool under his fingertips. He was going to have to be careful to watch his strength, but it was occurring to him that his heightened sensitivity to everything was going to make this a very interesting experience. He trailed the pads of his fingers over the inch of newly revealed skin, lifting his mouth away from her neck so he could watch the way a rosy flush slowly suffused her body where he touched it.

Restraining his impatience, Zack moved down to the next button and flicked it open as well. Now he had two whole inches of bared flesh to explore, and he rubbed his finger across it to test the texture of it against the callous on his hands.

By the time he had the dress open to the top of her bra she was shivering in his arms and clutching at his shoulders for support. "Zack," she said, his name half a plea. "I appreciate you going slow for me, but you don't have to be _this_ slow."

"I'm not doing it for you," he told her unabashedly. "I want to remember this, all of it. The memory is going to have to hold me for a long time; months, maybe even another year. Besides," he added with wonder in his voice, "you don't understand how the mako changes you. This is all new to me now, like I've never felt anyone under my hands before. But if you want me to hurry...?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, and she swallowed a moan. "Don't rush on my account," she assured him hastily. Lifting one hand to cup his cheek, she smiled at him. "If you're enjoying yourself, then by all means, continue."

Smiling, he returned to his slow exploration. To his delight the clasp of her bra was at the front and he was able to undo the catch at the same time as he freed the next button, leaving her skin bare there as well. Her breathing sped a bit, in anticipation he supposed, and the flush had reached down this far. Perhaps contrary to her expectations, he simply let the fabric hang over the sweet curve of her breasts and continued his progress on the buttons.

Her muffled noise of disappointment made his smile turn into a grin, and he brushed the backs of his fingers against the underside of one breast just to tease her. He'd be back to enjoy the feel of her, but all in good time.

By the time he reached the buttons at the level of her hips, he couldn't see what he was doing anymore because she was pressed against him and clinging to his neck to keep herself on her feet. He tightened the arm around her waist to help her stay up, supporting her weight without effort. It did give him the opportunity to return his mouth to her neck, licking and sucking at the soft skin there. He was careful not to leave a mark in a visible place, not wanting to get her in trouble with her mother, but he had plans for other places on her body.

When his fingertips discovered thick, neatly trimmed curls rather than soft skin beneath the button he'd just released, he groaned into her neck. He'd expected to encounter fabric first, and it caught him by surprise. "You really are a minx, aren't you?" he murmured, savouring the texture of her hair as he ran his fingertips through the narrow exposed strip again and again.

"I was in a hurry," she reminded him, her voice shaking. "I just threw on the first thing that came to hand, I wasn't worried about the niceties."

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" he assured her, laughing softly as he undid the next button and she moaned. One more button after that and the curls he encountered were slick with moisture, making him catch his breath as the musky scent of her reached him as well. "Mmm, you smell so good."

"You can _smell_ me?" she asked, sounding embarrassed.

"Heightened senses, remember?" he reminded her, sliding his fingers gently through the moisture. He wasn't quite far enough down to be able to touch her clit, which made him feel a little smug that she was already this wet. "You want it bad, don't you?"

Thumping him on the shoulder with one small fist, Aerith moaned. "You've been teasing me for at least _twenty minutes_ , Zack! If you were trying to drive me crazy, you're succeeding admir.... ah!" Her voice broke on a cry as he undid the next button and was finally able to slip his fingers into the folds of flesh, rubbing the tip of his index finger over the slick nub of her clit. She was already swollen, and exquisitely sensitive to his touch. He had to take her weight completely as her knees gave out, and she rocked her hips up into his hand helplessly, moaning all the while.

"Look at me," he demanded, lifting his head and staring down at her as she stirred and tried to open her eyes. When she finally managed it, the beautiful blue-green of her irises had been almost completely eclipsed by the black of her pupils, leaving a rim of bright aqua that made the black seem fathomless by comparison.

She shuddered as he pressed more firmly against her clit, whimpering and clenching her hands tightly into his shirt. "Zack!" she gasped, fighting to keep her eyes on his as he'd asked. Her face was flushed and she was panting for air; in short, she was just about the most erotic thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Making a decision, he smiled down at her and pushed his fingers a little farther in, until he could slide the whole length of his index finger over her clit rather than just the tip. At the point where she was pressed against the pad of his palm, he could just brush the tips of his first and second fingers against her opening. She was hot enough that he could feel his own internal temperature rising in response, and so wet he thought he could drown in it. He was hard enough for it to be painful, but he ignored it in favour of immersing himself in her feel and scent.

Every time he touched her there she cried out and pressed herself into his hand, trying to get more. He chuckled and refused to give in, concentrating on her clit instead.

It wasn't long before her movements became jerky and her moans ragged, and finally her whole body shuddered against his as she reached the peak. He stilled his hand and just cupped her gently, waiting for the aftershocks to pass so she could breathe again. Somehow she'd managed to keep her eyes half-way open, and the look of satiated pleasure in them made his own body leap in response.

Then, just as she was starting to recover her equilibrium, he took his hand away and lifted it to his mouth, licking at the moisture left on his fingers as she watched. Her eyes widened and she moaned again, watching him suck at his fingers with every evidence of pleasure. Aerith tasted wonderful, like a concentrated version of the unidentifiable quality in her kiss, and unlike some girls he'd been with it really was a pleasure to do this.

At last he removed his now-clean fingers, and she seemed to find her voice again. "What about you?" she asked, trailing one of her hands down over his chest slowly. "Are we going to do this standing up?"

Looking around, he grimaced. "I'm not sure we've got a lot of other options," he admitted ruefully. Every visible surface except the garden was old and splintered wood, and he wasn't sure he could manage all out sex without any kind of support at all. "Not unless one of us doesn't mind being made into a sliver pincushion."

Giggling softly, she followed his look around the room and obviously came to the same conclusion he had. "Take me to the garden, then," she invited.

"What?" he blinked at her, surprised and dismayed. "But we'll crush the flowers!"

"They don't mind," she assured him with a secretive smile. "And they'll grow back." She pushed at his shoulders and he loosened his grip enough for her to take a step back. Shrugging, she let the dress slip off her shoulders, the bra going with it. The fabric caught on his arm, and when he let her go completely it slid the rest of the way down to puddle on the floor. She was left dressed only in a pair of soft leather boots, and he caught his breath at how beautiful she was.

The harsh light coming in through the windows seemed somehow softened as it reflected off her skin, her long hair coming loose from the messy braid to fall across her body in strands that invited him to tangle his hands it in. Her eyes were full of warmth, a gentle heat that nevertheless burned him up from the inside out. He could still smell her intoxicating scent, and the wetness darkening parts of the curls between her thighs all but drove him crazy.

"Flowers it is, then," he said, his voice husky. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the edge of the garden and laid her down in the middle of the area they'd planted together. Immediately the scent of crushed flowers rose around her, mixing with her own in a way that made him feel dizzy with lust and need.

"You're overdressed," she told him, her hands working under his shirt to find the tight muscles of his abdomen and exploring there. He swallowed, finding that his enhanced senses affected the feel of her hands on him as much as his hands on her.

"That's easily fixed," he said, sitting back on his heels out of her reach and grabbing the neck of his shirt behind his head. One quick yank pulled the sweater over his head, leaving him bare from the waist up.

She gasped softly and pushed herself up to a half-sitting position, leaning back on one hand as the other traced the network of scars across his chest. He grimaced; he'd forgotten about them, to be honest, they were so much a part of him now. She didn't seem horrified or disgusted, though, just surprised and a little sad as she touched them one by one.

"They weren't so bad," he assured her, and he was telling the truth. The scars were from the wounds that he hadn't bothered to use potions or a Cure spell on, the ones he'd allowed to heal naturally because they weren't debilitating and he needed to save his resources for the bigger injuries. "I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm still in one piece."

"And you'd better stay that way," she told him, poking him in the chest. "Where am I supposed to get my manual labour if you go and get badly injured, after all? I'll be saving it up for you, don't forget."

"I remember," Zack agreed, his hands dropping to his belt as she continued to explore his chest. "If I'm going to keep getting rewards like this, I'll definitely have to make sure to keep myself in good enough shape to do the work."

"Careful," she warned him teasingly, smiling. "If you keep coming back for more, I might have to start referring to you as my boyfriend. And then I _am_ going to have to introduce you to my mother."

He paused, looking at her uncertainly. They'd hinted around the subject before, but this was the first time she'd come right out and said something that indicated she wanted any kind of real commitment from him. "Aerith, I can't make promises," he started, and she leaned up further to hush him with a kiss.

"No promises," she told him against his mouth. "No responsibilities, no restrictions. I just want you to know you've got someone to come home to, if you still want me then."

How many guys in the entire army were lucky enough to find a girl like this? Zack wondered, dazed. Somehow, he believed she really meant it when she promised no restrictions on him. "Babe, if the day ever comes when I don't want you, it will be because I'm on my deathbed," he told her, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. "And how can I do anything but come back in one piece, when my girl is waiting for me?"

He kissed her again, passionately, then nudged her back down so he could stand and strip out of his pants and boots. Lying back among the flowers, she looked up at him appreciatively in a way that made him flush with pleasure. She'd toed her own boots off at some point, leaving her clad in nothing but the flowers that nodded and swayed around the edges of her body. They both should have been freezing, but all Zack could feel was the heat that crackled between them.

Fishing automatically in his pocket before dropping his pants, Zack paused as he realized he'd overlooked one very important point. "Damn it," he muttered, tossing the pants aside and moving to kneel over her. He was scowling, and she lifted one hand to trace the line between his brows.

"Something wrong?" she asked, concerned. He sighed.

"I just realized that I don't have any protection," he murmured, kissing the line of her collarbone between words. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight, since I need to be back on base long before reveille. I _know_ I'm clean, Shinra's medical exams are pretty damn thorough, but..." He growled and shook his head.

"Shh," she said, kissing his temple since that was all she could reach. Her hands ran gently over his ribs, her fingers soft against his skin. "Trust me, okay? I have ways to make sure nothing happens. I promise, no consequences." She smiled. "I might have tried to talk you out of using it even if you'd brought anything. I want to feel you inside me, all of you."

Shuddering, he moaned into her neck. He was crazy for even contemplating it, he knew; the last thing he wanted was to leave her pregnant, and as amazing as she was he couldn't imagine how she would be able to guarantee that it wouldn't happen. Still, he wanted it as bad as she did, and somehow he knew she would never lie about this.

"You're a bad influence on me," he murmured, but gave in to what they both needed. Trailing his mouth down over her, he finally gave the attention to her breasts that he'd avoided earlier.

Gasping, she arched against him, her nipples taut hard peaks against his questing tongue. The earlier orgasm seemed to have worn off, or maybe it had just left her primed for more, because she shuddered against him and mewled in the back of her throat like she was still as turned on now as she had been before he'd gotten her off. He wondered if she could still feel the shock of the mako in his system, and if it affected her pleasure in any way.

It certainly wasn't any kind of negative effect, if it was. She was unbelievably responsive, writhing beneath him and running her hands over him in retaliation. As hard as he'd been focusing on her body, he'd been ignoring his own needs to the point where he thought he might not last long if she started stroking him. Whether she sensed that or was just shy, she never quite ventured far enough to touch his cock, and he was a little grateful.

Still, he definitely wasn't going to last as long as he might like to, so he wanted to make sure she was more than ready for him. It didn't look like it was going to take much effort, the way she was rocking her hips up against him. He slipped one thigh between hers, giving her something to grind against, and groaned at the slick heat of her against his skin.

"Zack," she gasped, begging wordlessly. "Oh, please... so good, I've never felt anything like this, oh!" She shuddered as he bit at one nipple, careful not to pinch too hard, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she panted helplessly for air.

"I want you," he growled against her, his voice low and almost dangerous. He knew his eyes were probably glowing brightly with lust enhancing the mako shine; he'd had more than one girl grow almost frightened at this point, but there wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes as she looked back at him.

Emboldened by her lack of fear, he moved to lick and bite at the other nipple, covering the abandoned one with his hand as he pressed his thigh tightly against her. "I want to fuck you," he repeated hoarsely. "I want to be inside you, want to feel you around me, want to make you come so hard you'll still be feeling aftershocks tomorrow. Aerith..."

"Oh!" She trembled at his words, her hips jerking in little spasms to press herself against him. "Oh, Zack, yes. I want... I want..."

He bit a little harder, and to his astonishment she cried out and threw her head back, her whole body shuddering once again in ecstasy. He hadn't thought she was _that_ close again, but apparently he'd underestimated her sensitivity. Damn it, now he was going to have to wait for her to come down a bit, and then start working her up all over again. He wasn't sure he could bear to wait that long.

Aerith seemed to have different ideas, however. She tugged urgently at his shoulders, pleading brokenly with him. "Now, Zack, please, now, I can't wait, I need you, please!"

Unthinking, he obeyed her, surging up to cover her pleas with a heated kiss as he shifted until he was cradled between her thighs. She was so slick and hot that it didn't take any effort at all to slip inside her, but she was tight despite that. It took his breath away when he realized she was still in the middle of orgasm, her body clenching and releasing convulsively against his cock. He'd meant to go slow at first, to give her time to adjust, but that squeezing drove his good intentions right out of him.

Thrusting hard into her, he revelled in the ragged cry she gave as she clutched at him desperately. That cry had been about as far from a protest as he could imagine getting, so he did it again, shaking with the need to restrain himself so he wouldn't misjudge his strength and hurt her. She rocked up to meet each thrust eagerly, rubbing her body against his everywhere she could reach.

The aftershocks of her orgasm faded quickly, and he was briefly afraid she might grow sore or too sensitive, but she showed no signs of wanting to stop or rest. She wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him on with her body, rocking into his thrusts and crying out breathlessly. Closing his eyes in an attempt to help keep hold of his self-control, Zack slowed the pace a bit and tried to draw it out. He wanted her to come again as or just after he did, so he wouldn't leave her hanging halfway to a third orgasm, but he wasn't sure he could hold out that long.

It didn't help that everything felt so exquisitely intense, sharpened by the enhancement to his senses. He'd never felt anything half this good in his entire life, and he wondered if it would be this way with everyone now, or if it was something unique to her and she was spoiling him for other girls. Even if she was, he didn't think he really cared. Not if he could feel like this.

Shifting so his weight was supported on one arm, he worked his other hand between them and searched for that sensitive bit of flesh that would drive her crazy. He found it easily enough; her clit was swollen and hard, and he could feel her throbbing around his cock as he played with it.

"Oh," she moaned, writhing beneath him. "Zack, oh, oh gods. Yes, please, more, I need... oh, Zack! Yes..." Even mostly incoherent, her words drove heat through his body and made his cock twitch inside her. Fairly growling with need, Zack somehow forced himself to keep to his slow, steady pace, continuing to rub his fingers over and around her clit as he worked them both to fever pitch.

Her hands were clenched so tightly on him that her nails might have been drawing blood, but he didn't even notice it except as an extra bit of stimulation. She was keening high in her throat now, a desperate sound that said more than words ever could about how far he'd pushed her. His pace sped no matter how hard he tried to hold back, rhythm turning uneven as his body tightened and he felt the end coming fast.

Gasping for air, he struggled with himself. Ducking his head, he latched his mouth onto her shoulder and sucked hard enough to bring blood to the surface, leaving a mark and trying to concentrate on that instead of how unbelievably good she felt against him.

The only warning he got was when her body started to clench around his cock again, her hips straining upwards as if she was reaching for something. Then she screamed, throwing her head back so hard he was grateful it was soft earth beneath them and not hard wooden floor. Aerith shuddered around him, squeezing so hard it drove the air right out of him. Otherwise he thought he might have shouted too, his vision actually going grey at the edges as he let go of the harsh control he'd been keeping on himself.

He'd heard it described as an 'explosion' often enough, but this was the first time it had really _felt_ like that, like he was flying apart into little pieces and pouring the essence of what was left into her body. She was still clenching around him as he collapsed, panting, and she lifted one trembling hand to stroke through his sweat-soaked hair.

They lay like that for long minutes, slowly coming back to themselves and just enjoying the feel of each other. Zack still had his face hidden against her shoulder, and he was almost afraid to look at her for fear it would be too intense for him to stand.

"It's okay," she murmured softly, still running her hand through his hair. She lay cradling him with her body, soothing him as the aftershocks went through their systems. He felt wrung out, completely emptied, as if he really had given her the most important part of himself and now he was left an empty shell. The hollow feeling slowly filled as she continued to touch and hold him, until he could breathe easily again and didn't feel quite so much like he might shatter at any moment.

Lifting his head, he gazed down into her eyes, captured once again by the sweet aqua colour and the warmth of her smile. "Feel better?" she asked gently, pushing away a strand of hair that had fallen into his eyes.

He started to ask what she meant, but it hit him all at once; the mako-induced restlessness, the feeling that he couldn't quite contain himself within his own skin, had vanished as if it had never been. He felt content and peaceful, almost serene. "How...?" he asked, shocked. He'd been hoping the garden would help to ease some of the tension, but this was far beyond anything he'd ever expected. Last time, it had taken weeks for the last of the feeling of having too much energy to fade.

Leaning up, she kissed him, as gently as she'd asked the question. "I'm glad," she said when their lips parted again. "You know you're always welcome here."

There was no doubt in his mind that she wasn't just talking about being 'here' in the garden. Sighing, knowing he probably wouldn't get a straight answer from her and not really caring, Zack relaxed into her embrace. Whatever the cause of it, he felt better than he had any right to, and he just wanted to enjoy it for the time he had left before he had to leave.

"You're amazing," he said, repeating his earlier words and knowing he would probably say them many more times in the future. And he would mean it every time, too. Aerith laughed softly and held him close, and he let himself slide away into the amazing sense of peace she brought to him.


End file.
